Morning Commentary: Validus Holdings adds new deal to calendar; more issues expected this week

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Seattle, June 6 – More deals were coming out of the primary preferred stock market on Monday as Validus Holdings Ltd. announced plans to sell at least $100 million of series A noncumulative preference shares.

In addition to the Validus offering, a trader said he was hearing of at least two more deals for the week.

Price talk on the Validus deal is 6% to 6.125%, according to a market source.

A trader said the issue was bid for at $24.70 in the early gray market.

BofA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and UBS Securities LLC are running the books.

The Bermuda-based reinsurance company plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes.

As for the secondary space, it was weaker ahead of a speech from Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve chairman, later Monday.

The Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities index was off 16 basis points at mid-morning.

Yellen is speaking at the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia at 12:30 p.m. ET. The market is hoping she will give more guidance on an expected interest rate increase in the coming months – especially in the wake of the disappointing jobs report last week. The report said nonfarm payrolls improved by just 38,000 jobs in May, the lowest gain seen since 2010.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.