Tesoro megadeal, Diamondback and Gulfport lead big primary session; funds gain $3.75 billion

By Paul Deckelman and Paul A. Harris

New York, Dec. 15 – With high yield new-issue activity expected to dwindle in the days remaining before the end of the year, syndicate sources reported what could be the primary’s last hurrah on Thursday, as five issuers – three of them from the red-hot energy sector – priced offerings during the multi-billion-dollar session.

Tesoro Corp. had the big deal of the day – a restructured $1.6 billion two-part offering of seven- and 10-year notes.

Oil and natural gas exploration and production company Gulfport Energy Corp. priced $600 million of 8.5-year notes while sector peer Diamondback Energy, Inc. brought an upsized $500 million issue of 8.5-year notes to market.

Away from the energy realm, business software company Open Text Corp. priced a $250 million add-on to its existing June 2026 bonds, while telecommunications operator Cincinnati Bell Inc., did an upsized $200 million tap of its existing July 2024 notes.

Wednesday’s megadeal from Noble Holding International Ltd. was easily the busiest Junkbondland credit of the session, trading off from its discounted issue price.

Statistical market performance measures turned mixed on Thursday, after being lower on Wednesday – their first negative session this month – and higher across the board on Tuesday.

High-yield mutual funds and exchange-traded funds posted a fourth consecutive week of net inflows as $3.75 billion more came into those weekly-reporting-only domestic funds than left them via investor redemptions during the week ended Wednesday.

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