Morning Commentary: AutoZone, International Finance to price; Union Pacific mixed; Ford slips

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., April 6 – AutoZone, Inc. is in Thursday’s deal pipeline with an offering of senior notes.

Also on Thursday, International Finance Corp. (Aaa/AAA) is expected to price a $250 million add-on to its floating-rate notes due Dec. 15, 2021. The notes were talked to price in the Libor plus 6 basis points area.

BofA Merrill Lynch, BMO Capital Markets Corp. and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. are the lead managers.

In addition, Fannie Mae plans to price an offering of five-year Benchmark Notes.

In secondary trading, Union Pacific Corp.’s senior notes (A3/A) were mixed early Thursday.

Ford Motor Credit Co. LLC’s 3.339% senior notes due March 28, 2022 softened.

Secondary trading volume totaled $26.8 billion on Wednesday, up from $15.82 billion on Tuesday, according to Trace.

Union Pacific mixed

Union Pacific’s 3% notes due April 15, 2027 rose to 99.43 on Thursday, the bond’s highest price since issuance, a market source said.

The notes last traded on Wednesday at 99.13.

Union Pacific priced $500 million of the 10-year notes on March 29 at 98.608 to yield 3.163% and a spread of 77 bps over Treasuries.

The company’s 4% notes due April 15, 2047 softened modestly over the morning to 98.98 from 99.00 on Wednesday.

Union Pacific sold $500 million of the 30-year notes in the March 29 offering at 98.655 to yield 4.078%, or a spread of Treasuries plus 107 bps.

The railroad transportation company is based in Omaha.

Ford Credit softens

Ford Motor Credit’s 3.339% notes due March 28, 2022 softened in early secondary trading on Thursday, according to a market source.

The notes were seen at 100.39 after going out at 100.61 on Wednesday.

Ford Motor Credit priced $850 million of the five-year notes (Baa2/BBB/BBB) on March 28 at par to yield a spread of Treasuries plus 138 bps.

Ford Motor Credit is the financing arm of Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker Ford Motor Co.

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