Primary quiet to end $873 million week; new Microsemi bonds jump; Toys ‘R’ Us up on holiday sales

By Paul Deckelman and Paul A. Harris

New York, Jan. 8 – The first full trading week of 2016 closed on a quiet note on Friday, with no new junk bond deals either announced or priced.

The lack of any deals on the day left the week’s tally of new issuance right where it had been at the close on Thursday, with $873 million of new U.S. dollar-denominated and fully junk-rated paper having come to market in two tranches, according to data compiled by Prospect News.

Thursday’s new issue from high-tech components manufacturer Microsemi Corp. – the year’s first new syndicated junk bond deal – was seen by market participants to have firmed smartly from its par issue price in active trading.

Away from the new issue realm, Toys “R” Us Inc. was one of the most notable names among existing credits; the specialty retailer’s bonds were up sharply after it posted positive year-over-year comparable-store sales figures for the all-important year-end holiday selling season.

Statistical measures of junk market performance turned mixed on Friday versus where they had ended on Thursday, after having been down across the board for two straight sessions and alternating between higher and lower for several sessions before that.

The indicators meantime were lower all around versus where they had ended last week, after two straight higher weeks. It was the second week out of the last five that the sectors had ended lower week over week.

© 2015 Prospect News.
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