Upsized Titan, MasTec offerings price; ILFC brings split-rated megadeal; Penney bonds rebound

By Paul Deckelman and Paul A. Harris

New York, March 6 - Titan International Inc. was heard by high-yield syndicate sources to have come to market on Wednesday with an upsized $325 million add-on to its existing 2017 secured notes. The vehicle wheel and tiremaker's issue moved up from its pricing level.

The junk market new-issue sphere also saw an upsized stand-alone 10-year deal from infrastructure construction company MasTec Inc. But that $400 million transaction came too late in the day for immediate aftermarket dealings.

Primaryside players also noted the $1.25 billion split-rated two-part deal from International Lease Finance Group. The aircraft leasing firm's five- and eight-year notes were quoted very slightly above their respective issue levels.

NXP BV's new 10-year notes were seen holding the same aftermarket levels they had reached on Tuesday after the semiconductor maker had priced its $500 million 10-year issue .

Monday's $750 million 10-year subordinated deal from Range Resources Corp. was seen having added to its already handsome secondary market gains.

Away from the new-deal realm, J.C. Penney & Co. Inc.'s bonds - which got hammered along with its shares on Tuesday as a major stockholder cuts its exposure to the underachieving retailer - mounted a comeback on Wednesday, with at least some of its issues notably higher in brisk trading.

Statistical measures of junk market performance turned mixed on the session after having been higher across the board on Tuesday.

MasTec sees $2 billion demand

Two issuers brought single-tranche deals on Wednesday to raise a combined total of $745 million.

The executions were noteworthy in that both deals were upsized by $50 million, with one pricing at the tight end of yield talk and the other pricing on top of price talk.

MasTec priced an upsized $400 million issue of 10-year senior notes (Ba3/BB-) at par to yield 4 7/8%.

The deal was upsized from $350 million, and the yield printed at the tight end of yield talk that was set in the 5% area.

The order book contained the names of 128 accounts, and totaled more than $2 billion, according to an investor who played the deal.

Allocations were not all that great, the investor said.

Barclays was the left lead. Morgan Stanley and SunTrust were joint bookrunners.

The Coral Gables, Fla.-based infrastructure construction company plans to use the proceeds to fund the repurchase of $150 million of its 7 5/8% senior notes due 2017, to repay the outstanding balance under its existing credit facility and for general corporate purposes.

Titan taps 7 7/8% notes

Titan International priced an upsized $325 million add-on to its 7 7/8% senior secured notes due Oct. 1, 2017 (B1/B+) at 106.25.

The reoffer price came on top of the price talk, and resulted in a 5.899% yield to worst.

Allocations were okay, but nothing stellar, a mutual fund manager said, adding that the add-on notes were up a point in the secondary market.

Goldman Sachs & Co. was the lead left bookrunner. Jefferies & Co. was the joint bookrunner.

Proceeds will be used to repay a portion of the debt of some indirect subsidiaries under the European credit facilities assumed as part of the acquisition of Titan Europe plc in the fourth quarter of 2012 and for general corporate purposes. The additional proceeds, resulting from the upsizing, will be used to put cash on the balance sheet.

MetroPCS could join index

In the wake of Wednesday's action just three deals remained on the calendar as business expected to price before the end of the week.

The big deal out there is MetroPCS Wireless, Inc.'s benchmark-sized offering of senior notes (B1/BB), which was set to begin a brief roadshow on Wednesday.

The deal, which is expected to price on Friday, features eight-year notes which are coming with preliminary guidance in the low-to-mid 6% range, and 10-year notes being guided in the mid-to-high 6% range.

The market has its eye trained on the deal, which is expected to come sized at $1 billion minimum, because it could end up in the index, an investor said on Wednesday.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. are the bookrunners.

Elsewhere Coinstar, Inc.'s $300 million offering of six-year senior notes (Ba3/BB-) will be "no problem," a trader said on Wednesday, adding that the deal is being discussed in a yield context in the 6% area.

BofA Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo and HSBC are the joint bookrunners for the deal which is set to price before the end of the week.

Rounding out the week's trio of roadshow deals is Acadia Healthcare Co. Inc. which plans to sell $150 million of senior unsecured notes due 2021 (B3/CCC+).

The deal is being discussed in the 6¼% yield context, according to a buyside source who added that the deal -size is not expected to grow.

BofA Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Jefferies & Co. Inc. are the bookrunners.

Titan trades higher

A trader said that Titan International's new 7 7/8% notes were trading at bid levels between 107 and 108 on Wednesday afternoon - up a little from the 106.5 level at which that upsized $325 million add-on to its existing bonds had come to market earlier.

A second trader saw the Quincy, Ill.-off-road vehicle wheel and tiremaker's bonds at 107 bid, 107½ offered.

A trader had them going home at 107¼ bid, 107¾ offered.

The day's other new strictly junk-rated transaction-Coral Gables, Fla.-based infrastructure construction company MasTec's 4 7/8% notes - priced too late in the day for any real aftermarket, a junk source said.

ILFC edges up

A trader saw International Lease Finance's two new issues - its $750 million of 3 7/8% notes due 2018 and its $500 million of 4 5/8% notes due 2021 - at bid levels between par and 100¼ when those transactions were freed for aftermarket dealings.

"Someone else might see 100 3/8."

He said that "it doesn't look like there was a lot of trading" in the Los Angeles-based aircraft leasing company's quickly-shopped new deal. That offering had actually come off the investment-grade desks of its various underwriters, owing to its Ba3/BBB-/BB split rating.

A second trader also saw both tranches of the new bonds between par and 100 ¼ bid.

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