Wabtec, WEA, Lazard, Mitsubishi, Reliance price notes; BNG on deck; Nestle roadshow ahead

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., Sept. 12 – Several issuers tapped the high-grade bond market on Wednesday.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp. priced a $2.5 billion three-tranche offering of notes following the company’s fixed-income investor calls held at the start of the week.

WEA Finance LLC sold $1 billion of senior notes in two tranches.

Lazard Group LLC brought $500 million of 10-year senior notes to the primary market.

Mitsubishi UFJ Lease and Finance Co. Ltd. priced $500 million of five-year senior notes after the company completed a roadshow that started on Monday.

Also, Reliance Standard Life Global Funding II priced $350 million of five-year senior secured notes during the session.

Coming up on Thursday, NV Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten intends to price a dollar-denominated offering of five-year notes.

More than $21 billion of high-grade bonds have priced week to date.

Other issuers are marketing deals this week, including Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield SE, which held fixed-income investor meetings on Monday and investor calls on Tuesday for a benchmark-sized dollar-denominated Rule 144A and Regulation S offering of senior notes.

Nestle Holdings Inc. will start a roadshow for a Rule 144A and Regulation S offering of dollar-denominated senior notes on Thursday.

Syndicate sources expect about $25 billion to as much as $40 billion of new supply this week.

The Markit CDX North American Investment Grade 30 index firmed about 1 basis point on Wednesday to a spread of 57 bps.

Wabtec prices $2.5 billion

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (Baa3/BBB/BBB-) priced a $2.5 billion three-tranche offering of notes on Wednesday, according to an FWP filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The $500 million of three-year floating-rate notes priced at par to yield Libor plus 105 bps.

Wabtec sold $750 million of 4.15% notes due March 15, 2024 at 99.805 to yield 4.19%, or a spread of Treasuries plus 133 bps.

A $1.25 billion tranche of 4.7% 10-year notes priced at 99.889 to yield 4.714%. The notes were placed with a spread of 175 bps over Treasuries.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, BofA Merrill Lynch and PNC Capital Markets LLC were the bookrunners.

Wabtec is a Wilmerding, Pa.-based provider of products and services for rail and other industrial markets.

WEA prices $1 billion

WEA Finance priced a $1 billion two-tranche offering of senior notes (A2/A/) on Wednesday, according to a market source.

The company sold $500 million of 4.125% 10-year notes at a spread of 120 bps over Treasuries. The notes were talked to price in the Treasuries plus 120 bps area, plus or minus 5 bps.

A $500 million tranche of 4.625% 30-year notes priced with a Treasuries plus 155 bps spread, compared to price guidance in the Treasuries plus 155 bps area, plus or minus 5 bps.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities and SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. were the lead managers.

WEA Finance is a Los Angeles-based borrower for Westfield America, Inc., the investment arm of real estate investment trust Westfield America Management Ltd.

Lazard upsizes

Lazard Group priced $500 million of 4.5% 10-year senior notes at a spread of 165 bps over Treasuries on Wednesday, according to a market source.

The notes (Baa3/A-/BBB+) were initially talked to price with a spread in the Treasuries plus 180 bps area, and guidance later was tightened to the Treasuries plus 170 bps area, plus or minus 5 bps.

The deal was upsized from $400 million.

Citigroup Global Markets and Lazard Freres & Co. LLC were the lead managers.

Lazard is a New York-based financial advisory and asset management firm.

Mitsubishi UFJ prices

Mitsubishi UFJ Lease and Finance (A3/A-/) priced $500 million of 3.96% five-year senior notes on Wednesday at a spread of 110 bps over Treasuries, according to a market source.

Price guidance on the notes was in the Treasuries plus 112.5 bps area, plus or minus 2.5 bps.

Citigroup Global Markets, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Securities and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC were the bookrunners.

The Tokyo-based company and subsidiaries provide leasing and asset finance services.

Reliance Standard sells notes

Reliance Standard Life Global Funding II priced $350 million of 3.85% five-year senior secured notes (A2/A/) on Wednesday at a spread of 100 bps over Treasuries, according to a market source.

The notes were initially talked to print in the Treasuries plus 110 bps to 115 area. Guidance was tightened to the Treasuries plus 105 bps area, plus or minus 5 bps.

The deal was upsized from $300 million.

Citigroup Global Markets, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Wells Fargo Securities LLC were the bookrunners.

The issuer is a financing arm of Philadelphia-based Reliance Standard Life Insurance Co.

BNG offers notes

Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten (Aaa/AAA/AA+) plans to price a dollar-denominated offering of five-year notes on Thursday, according to a market source.

The notes were initially talked to price in the mid-swaps plus 13 bps area.

Morgan Stanley, Nomura Securities International, RBC Capital Markets, LLC and Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. are the bookrunners for the Rule 144A and Regulation S offering.

The banking services company is based in The Hague.

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