High-grade volume quiet; Bayer, Digital Realty, Antares hold investor calls; AT&T flat

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., June 13 – Investment-grade bond issuers stayed to the sidelines on Wednesday with attention focused on the Federal Reserve’s rate hike of 25 basis points during the session.

Some issuers were marketing possible deals over the day, while more than a dozen issuers are planning bond offerings, sources said.

Bayer AG (Baa1/BBB/A-) started a three-day round of fixed-income investor calls on Wednesday for a potential dollar-denominated Rule 144A and Regulation S offering.

Also beginning Wednesday, Digital Realty Trust LP (Baa2/BBB/BBB) held fixed-income investor calls, a market source said.

In addition, Antares Pharma Inc. is holding fixed-income investor calls this week for a potential bond deal, a market source said.

Deal action was busy at the start of the week. On Monday, issuers priced more than $6 billion of investment-grade bonds, while more than $6 billion of corporate bonds were sold on Tuesday.

In secondary trading on Wednesday, AT&T Inc. bonds (Baa1/BBB+/A-) were mostly unchanged, a market source said. AT&T received court approval on Tuesday to complete its $85.4 billion cash and stock acquisition of Time Warner Inc. AT&T plans to close the takeover by June 20.

Time Warner’s 2.95% notes due July 15, 2026 (Baa2/BBB/BBB+) were flat on the day at 143 bps bid, according to the market source.

Bonds in the telecommunications sector overall were steady over the session, the source said.

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