Refinitiv shortens roadshow for $5.5 billion notes; pricing Friday

By Paul A. Harris

Portland, Ore., Sept. 12 – Refinitiv cut short its roadshow for a $5.5 billion equivalent amount of high-yield notes being sold in four tranches, according to market sources.

Roadshow stops set for early in the Sept. 17 week in Amsterdam and Paris are cancelled, and the deal is now expected to price on Friday.

Books had previously been expected to remain open into the early part of the Sept. 17 week, sources say.

In the meantime, marketing was also cut short for $8 billion of term loan debt, which is now also expected to be priced on Friday, as opposed to Monday, when commitments for the loan were previously due.

Demand for the notes is massive, sources say.

A $2 billion tranche of 7.5-year senior secured notes (B2/B/BB+) was heard to be playing to $4.1 billion of orders on Tuesday, according to an investor.

Demand for the $1.8 billion of unsecured notes (Caa2/B-/B+) was $3.3 billion on Tuesday, the source added.

Talk on the dollar-denominated secured bonds is in the low 7% area, while talk on the dollar-denominated unsecured bonds is in the low 9% area.

That talk has not changed, according to the investor.

However, the source added, there is a buzz in the market that the issuer and the dealers may be mulling concessions on an aggressive covenant package.

Should covenant concessions materialize, look for price talk to move lower, the investor said, adding that pricing on the dollar-denominated secured paper could even fall below 7%, should concessions materialize.

There are also euro-denominated bond tranches: $1 billion equivalent euro-denominated 7.5-year senior secured notes (B2/B/BB+) with initial talk in the 5% area and $700 million equivalent of euro-denominated eight-year senior unsecured notes Caa2/B-/B+) with initial talk in the 7% area.

JPMorgan is the global coordinator and physical bookrunner for the bond deal.

The notes in all four tranches come with three years of call protection.

Proceeds, along with $8 billion equivalent of term loan debt, will be used to help fund the acquisition of a 55% stake in Thomson Reuters Financial & Risk by Blackstone, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and GIC, and for general corporate purposes.

When the acquisition is completed, Thomson Reuters’ Financial & Risk US Holdings Inc. will be renamed as Refinitiv US Holdings Inc.

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