Chesapeake, United Airlines, Griffon drive by; new Pilgrim’s Pride pops; Bombardier drops

By Paul Deckelman and Paul A. Harris

New York, Sept. 27 – High-yield primary sphere activity picked up on Wednesday as a trio of issuers brought quickly-shopped deals to market, generating nearly $1.53 billion of new U.S. dollar-denominated and fully junk-rated paper in four tranches.

That was nearly double the $850 million of such paper that had priced on Tuesday in a single two-tranche transaction.

Add-on deals to existing bonds dominated the day’s proceedings, led by oil and natural gas operator Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s upsized $850 million offering, consisting of additions to its outstanding 2025 and 2027 notes.

Griffon Corp., a diversified management and holding company, also did a tack-on deal, increasing the size of its currently outstanding 2022 notes by $250 million.

Airline operator United Continental Holdings, Inc. – the parent of giant carrier United Airlines – priced a brand-new $400 million issue of 2022 notes.

Traders meantime saw active volume in both tranches of Tuesday’s offering from poultry producer Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., with both halves of that deal having firmed smartly from their respective par issue prices.

Away from the new deals, the bonds of Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier Inc. were in a nosedive on the news that the U.S. Commerce Department will slap a hefty 220% tariff on the company’s passenger jet planes, siding with U.S.-based rival Boeing Corp.’s claims that aid given to Bombardier by the Canadian provincial government of Quebec and by the British government gave Bombardier an unfair advantage.

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