Deal supply thins on Fed focus; Simmons First National, Nordic Investment Bank price notes

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., March 21 – Investment-grade deal action stayed mostly quiet on Wednesday with the focus on the Federal Reserve’s rate hike.

Simmons First National Corp. was the lone corporate issuer seen during the session. The company priced an upsized $330 million of 10-year fixed-to-floating-rate subordinated notes.

In SSA supply, Nordic Investment Bank priced a $500 million offering of two-year notes in line with guidance.

The Federal Reserve hiked the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to a 1.5% to 1.75% range.

Overall deal volume week to date was boosted to more than $23 billion following Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide Inc.’s $10 billion offering of bonds priced on Tuesday. Market sources had expected about $20 billion of bond issuance for the week.

While primary activity in the investment-grade bond market has thinned in March, more than a dozen issuers are in the deal pipeline, a source said.

Several companies, including Assurant Inc., Rio Tinto plc and Valero Energy Partners LP, held roadshows and investor calls earlier in the month.

The Markit CDX North American Investment Grade 30 index tightened about 1 bp to a spread of 62 bps.

Simmons upsizes

Simmons First National priced $330 million of 5% 10-year fixed-to-floating-rate subordinated notes (KBRA: BBB) at par to yield a spread of Treasuries plus 210 bps, according to an FWP filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The deal was upsized from $300 million.

The rate will reset April 1, 2023 to a floating rate of Libor plus 215 bps.

Sandler O’Neill + Partners, LP was the lead bookrunner.

Proceeds from the deal will be used to repay about $222 million of senior debt and trust preferred securities, with the remainder to be used for general corporate needs.

Simmons First National is a Pine Bluff, Ark.-based financial holding company.

Nordic Investment Bank prices

Nordic Investment Bank priced a $500 million offering of 2.5% global notes due April 28, 2020 (Aaa/AAA/) at a spread of mid-swaps minus 6 bps, or Treasuries plus 25.3 bps, according to a market source and an FWP filing with the SEC.

The notes were guided to price in the mid-swaps minus 6 bps area.

Merrill Lynch International, RBC Capital Markets, LLC and TD Securities (USA) LLC were the bookrunners.

Nordic Investment Bank is an international financial institution owned by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden.

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