Pre-holiday supply thin; Air Lease sells registered notes; Dominion Gas firms; Intel flat

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., Nov. 26 – The investment-grade bond market is beginning to slow ahead of the Thanksgiving Day holiday with light volume seen over Tuesday’s session.

Air Lease Corp. priced a C$400 million registered offering of five-year medium-term notes.

The company was last in the dollar-denominated primary market on Sept. 9 when it sold $1.1 billion of medium-term notes in two tranches.

In other new issuance seen on Tuesday, emerging markets issuer PTTEP Treasury Center Co. Ltd. priced $650 million of high-grade-rated 40-year medium-term notes.

Dollar-denominated market activity was mostly quiet over the day with desks beginning to thin ahead of the market closure on Thursday and early close Friday, a source said.

On Monday, volume included a $3 billion two-part offering of senior notes from DNB Bank ASA and a $750 million sale of long five-year senior notes from Mastercard Inc.

Up to about $5 billion of new investment-grade paper was predicted to price this week.

Credit spreads have improved about 2.5 basis points over the past two sessions.

On Tuesday, the Markit CDX North American Investment Grade 33 index closed about 1 bp tighter at a spread of 49 bps.

In the secondary market, Dominion Energy Gas Holdings, LLC’s new 3% senior notes due Nov. 15, 2029 tightened 3 bps on Tuesday.

Intel Corp.’s 2.45% senior notes due Nov. 15, 2029 priced in the previous week were flat.

Air Lease prints

Air Lease priced C$400 million of 2.625% five-year medium-term notes (/BBB/BBB/Kroll: A-) in a registered offering on Tuesday at 99.083 to yield 2.823%, according to an FWP filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The notes were sold with a spread of 134.7 bps over the Government of Canada benchmark bond, or 135 bps versus the Government of Canada bond curve.

BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc.., Merrill Lynch Canada Inc., RBC Dominion Securities Inc. and TD Securities Inc. were the bookrunners.

The issue also was offered in Canada on a private placement basis.

The aircraft leasing company is based in Los Angeles.

PTTEP prices $650 million

PTTEP Treasury Center priced $650 million of 3.903% medium-term notes due Dec. 6, 2059 (Baa1//BBB+) in a Rule 144A and Regulation S offering on Tuesday at a spread of 172.5 bps over Treasuries, according to a market source.

Initial price talk was in the 195 bps over Treasuries area.

BofA Securities, Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Ltd., HSBC Bank plc and Societe Generale were the bookrunners.

The notes are guaranteed by parent company PTT Exploration & Production Public Co. Ltd.

The oil and gas exploration and production company is based in Bangkok, Thailand.

Dominion Energy improves

In the secondary market, Dominion Energy Gas Holdings’ 3% senior notes due Nov. 15, 2029 (Baa1/BBB+/BBB+) traded 3 bps better over the session at 126 bps bid, a source said.

The company sold $600 million of the 10-year notes on Nov. 18 at a Treasuries plus 123 bps spread.

Dominion Energy Gas Holdings is a Richmond, Va.-based natural gas company and subsidiary of Dominion Energy Inc.

Intel unchanged

Intel’s 2.45% senior notes due Nov. 15, 2029 (A1/A+/A+) remained unchanged at 67 bps bid on Tuesday, according to a market source.

The company sold $1.25 billion of the 10-year notes on Nov. 18 at a spread of 65 bps over Treasuries.

Intel is a semiconductor chip maker based in Santa Clara, Calif.

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