Upsized Pioneer prices; Belo, Toys, United Rentals for Tuesday; Lear leaps on Chapter 11 exit

By Paul Deckelman and Paul A. Harris

New York, Nov. 9 - Pioneer Natural Resources Co. priced an upsized offering of 10-year notes on Monday, high yield syndicate sources said, kicking off what promises to be a busy week on the primaryside, as issuers hurry to get their financing needs taken care of ahead of the traditional year-end slowdown in Junkbondland.

When the Irving, Tex.-based independent energy exploration and production operator's new bonds began trading in secondary, traders saw them little moved from their pricing level.

Back in the new-deal arena, participants were meantime awaiting pricings on Tuesday from Belo Corp., a deal which had been announced last week, and from Toys 'R' Us Inc. and United Rentals (North America) Inc. - the latter two, like the Pioneer offering, being quickly shopped drive-by deals which surfaced Monday. Price talk emerged on the Toys 'R' Us and Belo deals during the session.

Talk was also heard on Viasystems Inc.'s upcoming $220 million offering of senior secured notes, as well as Triumph Group Inc.'s $175 million senior subordinated notes deal. Both are expected to price some time this week.

Several other deals also moved onto the forward calendar, including Revlon Consumer Products Corp.'s $330 million offering of senior secured notes, Cloud Peak Energy Resources LLC/Cloud Peak Energy Finance's $600 million two-part offering, Antero Resources Corp.'s $300 million tranche of eight-year notes and Inmarsat plc's $650 million of eight-year notes. Revlon, Antero and Inmarsat were heard to be hitting the road to market their respective deals; so was Houston-based restaurant and gaming operator Landry's Restaurants Inc., which is shopping around a $390 million issue of six-year notes.

Back in the secondary, besides the trading in the new Pioneer deal, Friday's new deal from General Maritime Corp. was heard by traders to be adding to the gains it notched after rising more than 2 points from its pricing level.

Also seen doing better was Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.'s recently priced offering of new 10-year bonds.

Among the names not having any new-deal connections, Lear Corp.'s bonds were seen having firmed smartly against a backdrop of the Southfield, Mich.-based automotive components maker's emergence from Chapter 11 restructuring as a leaner and considerably less debt-laden company.

Pioneer upsizes

In Monday's primary market Pioneer Natural Resources priced an upsized $450 million issue of 7½% 11-year senior notes (Ba1/BB+) at 99.142 to yield 7 5/8%.

The yield priced on top of yield talk. The issue price came within the context of talk for approximately 1 point of discount. The deal was increased from $300 million.

Deutsche Bank Securities, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo Securities, RBS Securities and UBS Investment Bank ran the books for the quick-to-market debt refinancing deal.

Toys 'R' Us to sell $650 million

Meanwhile the stage was set for a busy Tuesday session.

Toys 'R' Us financing vehicle Giraffe Properties, LLC talked its $650 million offering of eight-year senior secured notes (Ba2/B+) at the 8¾% area on Monday.

The deal is expected to price on Tuesday morning.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs & Co., Deutsche Bank Securities and Wells Fargo Securities are joint bookrunners.

Proceeds will be used to repay debt and purchase certain properties from Toys 'R' Us Delaware, Inc.

Belo Corp. sets price talk

Elsewhere Belo Corp. set price talk for its $275 million offering of seven-year senior unsecured notes (Ba2/B+) at the 8½% area.

The deal is expected to price mid to late Tuesday morning, New York time.

J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are leading the debt refinancing deal.

Viasystems talks to yield 13%

Viasystems set price talk for its $220 million offering of senior secured notes due January 2015 (B3/B+) to yield 13%, with approximately 4 points of original issue discount.

The books close at 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday, with the notes expected to price after.

Goldman Sachs & Co. and Wells Fargo Securities have the books for the debt refinancing.

Triumph fixes price talk

Triumph Group talked its $175 million offering of eight-year senior subordinated notes (Ba3/B+) at the 8¾% area on Monday.

The books close at 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday, except for West Coast accounts, for whom the books remain open until 4 p.m. ET. Pricing is expected shortly after.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. are joint bookrunners.

Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, which may include debt reduction and repayment of the company's revolver without any permanent reductions.

United Rentals to price Tuesday

Meanwhile United Rentals (North America) will host an investor call at 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday for its $400 million offering of 10-year senior notes.

The deal is expected to price on Tuesday afternoon.

Wells Fargo Securities, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley are joint bookrunners.

Proceeds will be used to repay the Greenwich, Conn.-based equipment rental company's asset-backed loan and for general corporate purposes.

Inmarsat to start roadshows

Inmarsat will begin roadshows in Europe and the United States on Tuesday for a $650 million offering of eight-year senior unsecured notes.

Credit Suisse and Barclays Capital are global coordinators for the Rule 144A/Regulation S offering. BNP Paribas and RBS Securities, Inc. are the bookrunners.

The notes come with four years of call protection.

Proceeds will be used to refinance existing debt.

Inmarsat is a London-based provider of satellite telephone and e-mail services to the broadcasting, shipping and airline industries.

Cloud Peak starts roadshow

Cloud Peak Energy Resources LLC and Cloud Peak Energy Finance Corp. began marketing a $600 million two-part offering of senior unsecured notes on Monday.

The offering, which is expected to price late next week, is comprised of seven-year notes which come with four years of call protection, and 10-year notes which come with five years of call protection.

Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and RBC Capital Markets are joint bookrunners.

Proceeds will be used to pay a distribution to Rio Tinto Energy America Inc., for general corporate purposes, including cash reserves for securing reclamation obligations, and for capital expenditure requirements.

Landry's rolls out $390 million

Landry's Restaurants began a roadshow on Monday for a $390 million offering of six-year senior secured notes (expected ratings B3/B).

The roadshow is set to conclude on Nov. 20.

Jefferies & Co. and UBS Investment Bank are joint bookrunners.

Proceeds will be used to refinance existing debt, and either for general corporate purposes or, if consummated, to fund a portion of the acquisition of Landry's by Landry's chairman, chief executive officer and president Tilman J. Fertitta.

Revlon starts marketing Tuesday

Revlon Consumer Products Corp. will begin a brief roadshow on Tuesday for a $330 million offering of six-year senior secured notes.

The roadshow is scheduled to wrap up on Thursday, with the offering expected to price afterwards.

Citigroup, Banc of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and JPMorgan are joint bookrunners for the debt refinancing deal.

Roadshow for Antero

Antero Resources Finance Corp. will run a roadshow for its $300 million offering of eight-year senior notes during the early part of the present week, according to an informed source

The deal is expected to price late in the week.

JPMorgan, Barclays Capital and Wells Fargo Securities are joint bookrunners for the debt refinancing.

Pioneer bonds stay around issue price

A trader said that the new Pioneer Natural Resources 7½% notes due 2020 were trading around 991/4, and then were left around 99 bid, "so they didn't really do much of anything" relative to the 99.142 level at which the bonds had priced.

"There was not much follow-up."

Another trader quoted the bonds at 99 bid, 99½ offered.

General Maritime extends gains

A trader saw General Maritime Corp.'s new 12% notes due 2017 get as good as 100½ bid, up from the 99¼ bid, 100¼ offered level at which the bonds went home on Friday, and well up from the 97.512 at which the New York-based oil tanker ship fleet operator had priced its $300 million offering earlier Friday, to yield 12½%.

"So they're up 3 points [from issue], that's very good," he said, adding: "I guess they had to price that thing [at that level] to get the deal done."

He also noted that there had been some tinkering around with the deal terms, adding an extra year of call protection - from three years to four - and "they changed some covenants too" in order to make the deal more attractive to would-be investors.

Starwood paper stays strong

A market source saw Starwood Hotels & Resorts' new 7.15% notes due 2019 trading at 98½ bid, up from the 97.559 level at which the White Plains, N.Y.-based international lodging giant had priced its $250 million of the bonds on Thursday to yield 7½%.

The company's existing 7 7/8% notes due 2014 were meantime seen having firmed to around the 104 level in fairly busy dealings.

Revlon unmoved by tender news, bond deal

Another trader said that he only saw small trades in Revlon's 9½% notes due 2011, in a 101-102 context, and he dismissed those as "not significant."

Another trader said he had seen '"nothing on the news" that the New York-based cosmetics maker will tender for those bonds, funding that buyback with its now bond deal.

The bonds, he said, had been hovering around par bid, 100½ last week, before Friday's announcement of the tender offer, but he suggested that the news "could cause them to trade up" to around the 102 7/8 takeout level - if the [bond] deal gets done."

Market indicators show gains

Back among the existing bonds not connected with the new-deal market, a trader saw the CDX Series 13 index up 1 point at 93 3/8 bid, 93¾ offered on Monday, after having been unchanged on Friday.

Meanwhile, the KDP High Yield Daily Index rose 10 basis points on Monday to end at 69.51, after having gained 2 bps in Friday's dealings. Its yield narrowed by 2 bps to 8.66%, after having tightened by 1 bp the previous session.

In the broader market, advancing issues made it eight sessions in a row over the decliners on Monday, while their lead bulged out to around four to three, versus Friday's margin of less than two dozen issues, out of nearly 1,500 tracked.

Overall market activity, as measured by dollar-volume, rose by 18% from Friday's sleepy pace.

A trader said that to him, the market "seemed a little softer - but nothing dramatic. We didn't do what the equity markets did," he noted - stocks were up strongly, with the bellwether Dow Jones Industrial Average up 203.52 points, or 2.03%, to finish at 10,226.94, its high for the year so far. Broader indexes like the Nasdaq composite and the Standard & Poor's 500 were equally robust, both also up about 2% on the day.

The trader said that there "all of the active stuff" was in what he termed "kind of quasi-high grade" issues such as SLM Corp., Capital One Financial Corp., Qwest Corp. and Ford Motor Credit Co.

Lear motors higher after bankruptcy exit

A trader said that Lear Corp. bonds moved up solidly against a backdrop of the company's emergence from Chapter 11.

He saw the Lear 8½% notes due 2013 last trading at 78 bid, which he called a 9-point gain on the day, while its 8¾% notes due 2016, which last traded at 780, were up 11 points.

He said there had been "decent-sized trading in the 60s and 70s. They were up all day, but at the end of the day, they seemed to jump a lot."

Another trader exclaimed "WOW!" when he saw the gain in the bonds, pegging the 81/2s at 78 going out, after having been all over the place" earlier. That contrasts with 73 at the opening and 68-69 last Friday, and "67ish before Halloween. So it's moved up nicely."

He saw the 83/4s having opened in the morning at 691/2, then having moved around - "70, 76, 75, 711/2. Then there was nothing for about four hours - but they were trading up late in the day at 80."

Lear, which makes automotive interior components, sought protection from its creditors while it restructured via a July 7 filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, after reaching agreement in principle with committees representing its senior lenders and its bondholders.

Under the term of the restructuring, Lear's lenders forgave some $2.8 billion of debt, allowing the company to emerge with a debt load of under $1 billion and no near-term maturities. With a cash stash of over $1 billion, Lear said in a company statement upon its emergence that it has available liquidity to support its global operating needs and growth plans.

Clear Channel climbs on debt cut

A trader said that Clear Channel Communications Inc. "seems to be a popular one again today," following the San Antonio, Tex.-based radio and billboard company's third-quarter earnings results.

He specifically cited the company's announcement that it had repurchased $528 million in debt for the bargain price of $180 million, adding "people seemed to like that."

He saw the company's 11% notes due 2016 trading at 46-48, which he called "up a bit," perhaps 1½ points, with "a lot trading."

Clear Channel's 6¼% notes due 2011 were "very active" within a 68-69 context, with the last trades seen around 68½ "up a couple of points, and that had decent volume."

"So, you can say it was a case of positive news, positive reaction." He also said the bonds were active during the afternoon "because the news didn't come out too long ago, so they're still a little active."

Another trader said "a bunch of Clear Channels traded," quoting the 11s going out between 45-451/2, "up a little."

He said the bonds had traded between 42½ and 44 on Friday, and were at 41 bid before that, "so they were up a few points."

Huntsman trades around

A trader said that Huntsman Corp. paper "was moving around, I saw them quoted a lot today."

He saw the Salt Lake City, Utah-based chemical company's 5½% notes were around 88-881/4. He said that that was about where the bonds had already been.

Catalyst continues upward

A trader saw Catalyst Paper Corp.'s bonds continuing to move up, just as they had on Friday, with its 8 5/8% notes due 2011 at 61, up from the upper 50s on Friday."They moved up a couple [of points] again today, but there was low volume - they were not active."' He said it was just one sizable trade.

The Richmond, B.C.-based paper company's bonds had fallen last week to lows around 57½ on bearish guidance from the company and lackuster results, but then began to climb back from those depths later in the week. They had gone home on Friday quoted at 58½ bid, 59½ offered, on "good volume."

Six Flags slides amid new plan

From deep in distressed-debt territory, a trader said Six Flags Inc.'s bonds were mostly trading around an 18-20 context, while its 12¼% notes due 2016, which were in the 90s, traveled around a 93-95 context.

However, he added that he didn't know what kind of action, if any, the latter bonds were seeing.

"That seems like where they [the company's bonds already] were."

He said the 9 5/8% notes due 2014 were down 3 points on the day at 19-191/2, adding that "that one was active."

He also saw its 4½% notes due 2015 ending right around 191/2-20, "down a couple of points" on the day, although the bonds were off their day's low around 16-17.

"So I would say that Six Flags had an active day, and its paper is lower."

That activity came amid news that the bankrupt New York-based amusement park operator has submitted a new reorganization plan to the bankruptcy court - one which gives certain bondholders a much bigger share of the company's equity when it is reorganized than the original plan did. Critics of the original plan said that that reorganization proposal gave almost all of the stock to the senior lenders like JPMorgan Chase & Co., in return for cutting Six Flags' debt.

After consultations with other creditors - notably hedge fund Avenue Capital Management, a vocal bondholder - Six Flags reached the amended terms, although these still face opposition from other creditors and stakeholders.

The new plan, which was filed with the court on Saturday, includes selling $450 million in new stock to increase the money available for creditors.

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