Levi Strauss drives by to open week, new bonds busy, higher; European issuers step up

By Paul A. Harris and Paul Deckelman

New York, April 20 – The high-yield primary market saw one dollar-denominated deal price on Monday to open the new week – familiar junk issuer Levi Strauss & Co.’s quickly shopped and upsized $500 million of 10-year notes.

Traders said the iconic blue jeans manufacturer’s new issue seemed to be a good fit for investors, who took the bonds higher in heavy aftermarket trading.

They also noted considerable activity in some of the new deals that priced last week, including issues from Charter Communications, Inc., Air Medical Group Holdings, Inc., Communications Sales & Leasing Inc. Inc. and DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc.

Away from the deals that have actually priced, syndicate sources said that medical device maker DJO Global Inc. was getting ready to hit the road to market a $1,045,000,000 offering of six-year secured paper to potential investors.

San Diego-based DJO’s plans and the Levi deal were the only two nuggets of news heard coming out of the domestic high-yield market – but the European wing of Junkbondland saw busy activity on Monday, including a sizable euro-denominated pricing from German auto parts manufacturer ZF Friedrichshafen AG.

Statistical indicators of junk market performance were trending higher on Monday, after having turned mixed on Thursday and lower across the board on Friday.

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