Roper, Westfield units sell notes, issues scarce in coming days, Roper, P&G, Duke tighten

By Andrea Heisinger and Paul Deckelman

New York, Aug. 26 - Deals from Roper Industries, Inc. and WEA Finance LLC and WT Finance Australia Property Ltd. sold bonds Wednesday as the volume slowdown continued.

The Roper sale was increased to $500 million from $350 million of 10-year notes. It was announced and priced early in the day.

The WEA issue priced later in the afternoon and totaled $2 billion in two tranches. Both deals came in at the tight end of price talk.

Sales are expected to remain slow until after Labor Day, syndicate sources said.

Among the established issues in the secondary arena on Wednesday, a market source said the CDX Series 12 North American high-grade index was again unchanged at a mid bid-asked spread level of 115 basis points.

Advancing issues - which held a four-to-three lead over decliners on Tuesday - remained ahead of them for a second straight session Wednesday, by around the same ratio.

Overall market activity, reflected in dollar-volume totals, eased about 4% from Tuesday's pace.

Spreads in general were seen little changed, in line with generally steady Treasury yields; for instance, the yield on the benchmark 10-year government note edged inched downward by just1 bp on Wednesday, to 3.43%.

The new Roper Industries 10-year notes were heard to have tightened from the spread over comparable Treasuries at which they had priced.

Also seen tightening a little were recently priced issues from Procter & Gamble Co., Duke Energy Corp., although Spectra Energy Capital's bonds were unchanged.

Roper upsizes 10-years

Roper Industries priced an upsized $500 million of 6.25% 10-year senior unsecured notes at Treasuries plus 280 bps. The size was originally $350 million, a source close to the sale said.

The bonds sold at the tight end of talk, which was the 285 bps area with a margin of plus or minus 5 bps, the source said. Books totaled $3 billion.

"There wasn't any competing supply," he said.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan Securities and Wells Fargo Securities were bookrunners.

Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes and to repay amounts borrowed under a term loan and revolving credit facility.

The diversified industrial technology company is based in Sarasota, Fla.

Rest of week seen slow

Supply is mostly tapped for the remaining two days of the week, sources said late in the day. The coming week is likely to be even slower in terms of volume, one syndicate source said, describing it as being "pretty painful."

"It should pick up after Labor Day, definitely," a second syndicate source said. He said his desk had "nothing definite" on the calendar for the rest of the week.

The deals that did price Wednesday, including an emerging markets sale from the Republic of South Africa, were not competing for investor interest, a source said.

"We were about the only thing in the regular market," a source who worked on Roper Industries said.

Westfield units sell two tranches

WEA Finance and WT Finance Australia, both units of retail property company Westfield Group, sold $2 billion of notes in two tranches, an informed source said.

The $750 million of 5.75% six-year notes priced at Treasuries plus 350 bps.

A $1.25 billion tranche of 6.75% 10-year notes priced at Treasuries plus 350 bps.

Both tranches came at the tight end of price talk that was in the 375 bps area, plus or minus 25 bps.

The tranches were sold via Rule 144A and Regulation S.

Books were run by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Global Markets, Deutsche Bank Securities and UBS Securities.

Westfield is based in Sydney, Australia.

Roper paper rallies

When Roper Industries' new 6.25% notes due 2019 were freed for secondary dealings, a trader saw the bonds changing hands at 265 bps bid, 263 bps offered.

The $500 million issue - upsized from the originally planned $350 million - had priced earlier in the session at a spread of 280 bps over.

P&G pops, a little

Cincinnati-based consumer products giant's Procter & Gamble's two tranches of bonds, priced on Tuesday, were seen having tightened a little from those initial levels.

The parent company's $500 million of 3.15% notes due 2015, which had priced at 75 bps over Treasuries, traded on Wednesday at 69 bps bid, 66 bps offered.

Meanwhile, its $1 billion of Procter & Gamble International Funding 1.35% notes due 2011 were quoted at 33 bps bid, 30 bps offered. That mega-deal had priced Tuesday at 38 bps over.

Duke energizes investors

A trader saw Charlotte, N.C.-based power producer Duke Energy's $500 million of 3.95% notes due 2014 trading at 132 bps bid, 125 bps offered. Those bonds had priced at 145 bps over on Tuesday.

The other half of that $1 billion deal - upsized from the original $800 million - was the $500 million of 5.05% notes due 2019. Those bonds, which had priced Tuesday at 160 bps over, had tightened modestly Wednesday to 155 bps bid, 147 bps offered.

Spectra bonds seen steady

Little movement was seen in former Duke Energy unit Spectra Energy Capital's $300 million of 5.65% notes due 2020. The Houston-based natural gas pipeline company's bonds priced at 220 bps over on Tuesday, and they were seen Wednesday at 220 bps bid, 210 bps offered.

Financials seen wider

A market source said some of the financial issues were seen having widened out on Wednesday, with General Electric Capital Corp.'s 6% notes due 2019 - the busiest high-grade issue of the day, with some $50 million having traded by mid-afternoon - seen at 238 bps over, a 5 bps widening on the session. The Fairfield, Conn.-based commercial lender's 3.50% notes due 2012 - also active, with over $490 million traded at mid-afternoon - were seen around the 185 bps mark, having gapped out more than 20 bps from Monday's trading levels.

New York-based banking giant Citigroup's 6.375% notes due 2014 were quoted out about 10 bps on the day at 375 bps over.

Bank, brokerage CDS costs widen

A trader who follows the credit default swaps market said that the cost of protecting holders of big-bank debt against a possible event of default, which had narrowed on Tuesday by some 5 bps, gave those gains back on Wednesday, widening by that same 5 bps.

He further said that CDS costs for major brokerage company paper, which had likewise tightened by 5 bps on Tuesday, also reversed course on Wednesday, widening by 5 bps.

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