British Columbia, EBRD price; BGC, Thermo Fisher eyed; PayPal notes firm; Walmart mixed

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., Sept. 20 – High-grade supply continued to enter the bond market on Friday with deals from the Province of British Columbia and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

British Columbia sold $1.25 billion of five-year global bonds tighter than guidance.

EBRD priced an upsized $700 million of five-year green climate resilience bonds.

Corporate deals also were being marketed over the session.

Customers Bancorp Inc. offered five-year senior notes.

Cnooc Finance (2013) Ltd. said it plans to price dollar-denominated guaranteed notes.

BGC Partners, Inc. started fixed income investor calls on Friday for a dollar-denominated offering of senior notes. The deal size is expected at $300 million, according to a Fitch Ratings release.

Looking ahead to next week, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. expects to begin marketing a dual-currency offering of senior notes with fixed income investor calls.

Week to date, reported corporate supply totals more than $18 billion. Market sources expected about $25 million of deal volume for the week.

SSA issuance came to more than $6 billion for the week.

Deal volume in the upcoming week is pegged in the $20 billion area, according to market sources.

Lipper US Fund Flows reported corporate investment-grade funds had inflows of $2.83 billion for the week ended Wednesday.

In the broader high-grade market that includes corporate bonds, mortgages, agencies and Treasuries, investment-grade inflows declined to $2.53 billion this week from a $6.94 billion inflow in the prior week, according to a BofA Merrill Lynch note released on Friday.

Short-term high-grade reported a $570 million outflow for the week ended Wednesday following a $2.77 billion inflow a week earlier.

“The short-term high-grade outflow was likely a result of corporate tax payments, which contributed to the disruptions in the repo markets earlier this week,” the note said.

Excluding short-term inflows “remained robust” for the past week at $3.1 billion, down from $4.17 billion in the previous week, according to the report.

High-grade inflows declined for funds to $1.13 billion from $3.25 billion in the previous week and for ETFs, which fell to $1.41 billion this past week from $3.68 billion a week earlier.

In the secondary market, new issues priced this week mostly improved.

PayPal Holdings Inc.’s $5 billion of notes (BBB+/BBB+) that priced in four tranches on Thursday tightened 2 basis points to 3 bps.

Walmart Inc.’s $1.5 billion two-part offering of senior notes (Aa2/AA/AA) that priced on Thursday were mixed in secondary trading.

The Markit CDX North American Investment Grade index rolled to a new 33 series on Friday. The index closed the day at a spread of 59.7 bps.

British Columbia prices

British Columbia (Aaa/AAA) priced a $1.25 billion offering of 1.75% five-year global bonds on Friday at mid-swaps plus 20 bps, or a spread of Treasuries plus 14.1 bps, according to a market source and an FWP filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The notes priced at 99.805 to yield 1.791%.

Initial price talk was in the mid-swaps plus 23 bps area.

Guidance firmed to the mid-swaps plus 21 bps area before the offering was launched at mid-swaps plus 20 bps.

TD Securities (USA) LLC, BMO Capital Markets Corp., CIBC World Markets Corp. and RBC Capital Markets LLC were the bookrunners.

EBRD upsizes

EBRD (Aaa/AAA/AAA) priced an upsized $700 million of 1.625% five-year green climate resilience bonds on Friday at mid-swaps plus 15 bps, or a spread of Treasuries plus 9.15 bps, according to a market source.

The notes due Sept. 27, 2024 were initially talked to print in the mid-swaps plus 16 bps area.

The issue priced at 99.466 to yield 1.737%.

The deal was upsized from $500 million.

BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Goldman Sachs International and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken were the bookrunners.

The financial institution is based in London.

BGC plans dollar deal

BGC Partners is expected to continue a second session of fixed income investor calls on Monday for a dollar-denominated private offering of senior notes (//BBB-), according to a market source.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and PNC Capital Markets LLC are the arrangers.

BGC Partners is a financial services company based in New York City.

Thermo Fisher on tap

Thermo Fisher Scientific is in the deal pipeline with a dual-currency offering of senior notes (Baa1/BBB+/BBB), according to a market source.

The company plans to hold fixed income investor calls on Monday for dollar-denominated notes and a multiple-tranche offering of euro-denominated notes.

BofA Securities, Inc., Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC are the bookrunners.

Thermo Fisher is a Waltham, Mass.-based science technology company.

Customers Bancorp eyed

Customers Bancorp marketed new dollar-denominated fixed-rate senior notes due September 2024 on Friday, according to a 424B5 filing.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and B. Riley FBR, Inc. are the bookrunners.

The notes are redeemable at par on or after 30 days prior to maturity.

The bank holding company is based in Wyomissing, Pa.

PayPal notes firm

PayPal’s 2.4% notes due Oct. 1, 2024 firmed to 73 bps bid, 71 bps offered in the secondary market, a source said.

The company sold $1.25 billion of the five-year notes on Thursday at a Treasuries plus 75 bps spread.

PayPal’s $1.5 billion of 2.85% notes due Oct. 1, 2029 traded on Friday at 108 bps bid, 105 bps offered.

The notes priced Thursday at a 110 bps over Treasuries spread.

PayPal is a San Jose, Calif.-based online payments system operator.

Walmart mixed

Walmart’s 2.375% notes due Sept. 24, 2029 traded on Friday at 61 bps bid, 58 bps offered, according to a market source.

The $500 million tranche of notes priced Thursday at a Treasuries plus 60 bps spread.

Walmart’s 2.95% notes due Sept. 24, 2049 were quoted at 80 bps bid, 77 bps offered in the secondary market on Friday.

Walmart sold $1 billion of the 30-year notes in the previous session at a spread of 80 bps over Treasuries.

The discount retailer is based in Bentonville, Ark.

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