Intelsat softens as high-yield issue priced; Whiting retreats from Friday highs; EP rises

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Seattle, March 21 – Recently topical names in the distressed debt space – such as Intelsat SA and Whiting Petroleum Corp. – continued to hold sway in the marketplace on Monday.

Intelsat bonds were trending down as the company looked to tap the high-yield market with a $1.25 billion senior secured debt issue due in 2024. Proceeds from the offering – being done via subsidiary Intelsat Jackson Holdings SA – are expected to be used to pay down debt.

Last week, it was reported that the company was in talks with bondholders on a potential debt swap. The effort came as talks to secure an amendment on the company’s credit facilities broke down.

Meanwhile, investors continued to react to news of a private debt exchange at Whiting Petroleum. The oil and gas producer announced the swap on Friday, which pushed the debt up as much as 10 points.

Come Monday, however, the notes were giving back some of those gains.

Also in the oil and gas arena, EP Energy Corp. paper popped on news the company had sold some of its shale assets, to the tune of $420 million in cash.

But while topical or news-driven names were moving a fair bit, traders lamented that the week was off to a slow start.

“It was a pretty miserably slow day,” one trader said.

The lack of volume was attributed to it being a short holiday week. The markets will be closed Friday in observance of Good Friday.

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