Distressed market subdued ahead of holiday; AMR, Edison bonds holding ground; ATP debt softer

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Phoenix, Dec. 21 - As expected, activity in the distressed debt arena was less-than-stellar on Friday.

"It went into wind-down early," a trader said. "There's nothing notable at all."

Another trader noted that "everybody's already started to hit the road" in order to get a jumpstart on their holiday celebrations.

Given the holiday, Monday will be a half-day, a trader said, "with a quarter [of the] staff."

Even as the equity markets were declining, the distressed market was holding up.

AMR Corp. "continues to be strong," a trader said, though levels were relatively unchanged. Also unchanged, but marginally active, were Edison Mission Energy's bonds.

ATP Oil & Gas Corp. meantime came off slightly after the company released its monthly operating report late Thursday.

AMR holds up

AMR bonds were holding up even as the equity markets weakened on Friday.

"The airlines in general are holding in pretty good," a trader said, despite the softened market.

He said AMR's 6¼% benchmark convertible notes due 2014 "continue to be strong," though unchanged, around "86-ish."

On Thursday, it was reported that bankrupt Fort Worth-based AMR was getting closer to a merger agreement with U.S. Airways. On Friday, it was learned that the flight attendants' union has been asked to join the talks, which also include the pilots' union.

Though a deal is far from a sure thing, it is expected that something will be brought before AMR's board on Jan. 9.

Edison stays steadfast

Edison Mission Energy debt was maintaining its ground on Friday, as it had for most of the week.

The Santa Ana, Calif.-based power producer's bonds ran up on Monday after the company announced it had filed for bankruptcy. The bonds came off of their highs in the following session, but have been holding in since then.

One trader called the debt - which trades in line with one another - unchanged at 531/2. Another trader pegged the paper at 54.

ATP notes weaken

A trader said ATP Oil & Gas' 11 7/8% notes due 2015 were "probably a little lower," seeing them trade in a 10¾ to 11¼ range.

Another trader called the issue softer around 11.

The slight slip came on the back of a monthly operations report the bankrupt oil and gas exploration company filed late Thursday.

For the month of November, the Houston-based company reported a $22.15 million loss on revenues of $31.77 million.

Loss from operations was $6.31 million.

By comparison, October's monthly net loss was $6.42 million on revenues of $36.3 million. Income from operations was $5.01 million.

© 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.