Cheniere prices split-rated Sabine, Landry’s on tap; Ziggo busy, Community Health gyrates on sale talk

By Paul Deckelman and Paul A. Harris

New York, Sept. 19 – The high yield primary opened the new week on Monday with just one pricing, as liquid natural gas company Cheniere Energy Partners, LLC came to market with a split-rated and upsized $1.5 billion secured issue via its Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC subsidiary.

Back among the purely junk-rated names, new-deal players meantime awaited restaurant, gaming and lodging company Landry’s, Inc.’s expected Tuesday pricing of its upsized $600 million of eight-year notes.

And several new deals were heard to be hitting the road for marketing to potential investors – JDA Software Group Inc., AMN Healthcare, Inc. and Confie Seguros Holding II Co. in the dollar-denominated market, plus Groupe Fnac, MCS Groupe and eDreams Odigeo in the euro-denominated space.

Among recently priced issues, Friday’s two-part offering from Dutch telecommunications and cable operator Ziggo Holding BV was actively traded and slightly easier on the day, with notable activity also seen in last week’s offerings from Camelot Finance SA and Acelity LP Inc.

Outside of the new-deal realm, Community Health Systems, Inc.’s bonds were seen bouncing around in busy trading, with its 2022 notes getting hammered but several other issues rising, after the big hospital operator confirmed Friday’s press reports that it had had hired financial advisers and was exploring its options, which could include the sale of part or all of the company – but said that talks were only in the preliminary stages.

Statistical market performance measures turned higher across the board on Monday for the first time in more than a week, after having been lower all around on Friday and mixed on Thursday. The most recent stronger session was back on Sept. 8.

Cheniere upsizes

Cheniere Energy Partners, LLC priced Monday's sole deal, an upsized $1.5 billion issue of split-rated, non-callable 10.5-year senior secured notes (Ba2/BBB-), which came at par to yield 5%.

The deal size was increased from $1 billion.

The yield printed on top of price talk and tight to early guidance in the low 5% area.

BofA Merrill Lynch was the lead.

The notes were issued by Cheniere's wholly owned subsidiary, Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC.

The Houston-based liquid natural gas company plans to use the proceeds to prepay a portion of the Sabine Pass 2015 credit facilities.

Upsized Landry's talk 6¾% to 7%

Landry's, Inc. upsized its offering of eight-year senior notes (Caa1/CCC+) to $600 million from $575 million.

In addition, price talk on the notes was set at 6¾% to 7%.

The Jefferies deal is set to price Tuesday.

Proceeds, along with proceeds from a concurrent $1.5 billion senior secured credit facility, will be used to refinance existing debt including the 9 3/8% senior unsecured notes due 2020 and an existing senior secured credit facility, and to make a distribution to the indirect parent to redeem all of its outstanding 10¼% senior unsecured notes due 2018. The additional $25 million of proceeds resulting from the upsize of the deal, along with $25 million of cash on the balance sheet, will be used to fund a $50 million dividend to Landry's parent.

JDA Software roadshow

There was a buildout of the active forward calendar and the week got underway.

JDA Software Group Inc. began a roadshow on Monday for a $400 million offering of eight-year senior notes.

Initial guidance has the deal coming with a yield of 8% to 8¼%, a trader said.

The roadshow wraps up on Thursday.

BofA Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs are leading the debt refinancing deal.

AMN Healthcare starts Tuesday

AMN Healthcare, Inc. plans to start a roadshow on Tuesday in New York for a $300 million offering of eight-year senior notes.

The debt refinancing deal, via left bookrunner SunTrust, is set to price on Friday.

Confie next week

Confie Seguros Holding II Co. plans to roadshow a $590 million offering of six-year senior notes during the Sept. 26 week.

The Buena Park, Calif.-based personal lines insurance broker plans to use the proceeds to refinance in full the company’s existing first- and second-lien term loans.

The refinancing also includes a $590 million term loan that is set to launch Wednesday, via RBC Capital Markets, Antares, Goldman Sachs, and Barclays.

Groupe Fnac starts roadshow

Groupe Fnac started a European roadshow on Monday for a €650 million offering of senior notes due 2023.

The roadshow wraps up on Wednesday.

Credit Agricole, Natixis and SG CIB are the global coordinators.

The Ivry-sur-Seine, France-based retail chain, which sells cultural and electronic products, plans to use the proceeds, together with cash, to refinance the bridge loan dated April 20, 2016, which it entered into in connection with its acquisition of Darty plc.

MCS roadshows FRN

France-based MCS Groupe was scheduled to begin a roadshow on Monday in London for a €200 million five-year senior secured floating-rate notes.

Global coordinator Morgan Stanley will bill and deliver. JP Morgan is also a global coordinator. SG CIB is the joint bookrunner.

The financial services company, which is headquartered in Paris, plans to use the proceeds to repay debt, as well as to fund a distribution to shareholders and for general corporate purposes.

eDreams five-year secured deal

Spain's eDreams Odigeo is in the market with a €425 million offering of senior secured notes due Aug. 1, 2021.

Sole global coordinator Deutsche Bank will bill and deliver.

The Barcelona-based online travel company plans to use the proceeds to redeem the Geo Debt Finance SCA 7½% senior secured notes due 2018 issued Jan. 31, 2013 and the Geo Travel Finance SCA 10 3/8% senior notes due 2019 issued on April 21, 2011.

Outflows

The cash flows of the dedicated high yield bond funds were negative on Friday, the most recent session for which data was available at press time, a trader said.

High yield ETFs saw $77 million of outflows on the day.

Actively managed funds sustained $95 million of outflows on Thursday.

Dedicated bank loan funds were positive on Friday, however.

The loan funds saw $100 million of inflows on the day, the trader said.

Waiting for the Fed

In the secondary market, one of the traders remarked that Monday’s session seemed like a pretty quiet day – if anything, a little bit on the lighter side, but barely.”

He saw the market “basically unchanged from Friday’s levels,” opining that “a lot of people are just waiting for the Fed.”

The U.S. central bank’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee opens its two-day September meeting on Tuesday, with the get-together stretching into Wednesday, at which time any announcements to raise interest rates – or not – are expected.

The trader suggested the latter scenario is more likely, given the behavior of the market.

“Most people would agree that there will be no [announcement or a rate hike].”

Given recently mixed economic signs, he projected that “they’re not likely to upset the apple cart, going into the election and the end of the year.”

Ziggo bonds busy

Among specific issues, a trader said that “about the only thing that was moving” from last week’s issues was Netherlands-based Ziggo’s two dollar-denominated tranches of bonds, both of which priced on Friday at par as a regularly scheduled forward calendar offering.

Its Ziggo Secured Finance BV 5½% senior secured notes due in January of 2027 were seen by a market source trading at 99 11/16 bid, a drop of 5/16 point from Friday’s par level, with over $25 million of the notes having changed hands.

The company’s Ziggo Bond Finance BV 6% senior unsecured notes due January 2027 were meantime seen off 1/8 point at 99 5/8 bid, on volume of over $14 million.

Ziggo priced $2 billion of the secured notes and $625 million of the unsecured notes as part of a three-part transaction that also included a tranche of euro-denominated 10.25-year secured notes.

KCI, Camelot trade around

Elsewhere among the recently priced issues, a trader said that Camelot Finance SA’s 7 7/8% notes due 2024 were 3/8 point better at 102¼ bid, with more than $17 million traded.

The newly formed U.K.-based holding company – which will 100% of Intellectual Property & Science, a collection of leading subscription-based businesses that provide customers with access to scientific literature, patent, trademark, pharmaceutical and other curated content being carved out of Thomson Reuters Corp. and purchased by Onex Corp. and Baring Private Equity Asia via a leveraged buyout – priced $500 million of the notes at par on Thursday in a forward-calendar deal.

Acelity LP’s Kinetic Concepts Inc. 9 5/8% senior secured second-lien notes due 2021 gained more than 1/8 point Monday to end at 100½ bid, with over $19 million traded.

The medical products maker had priced $1.75 billion of the notes at par last Tuesday.

Community Health bonds move

Outside of the new deals, Community Health Systems’ bonds moved actively on the company’s confirmation of news reports that the Franklin, Tenn.-based hospital operator had hired advisors and was exploring options, possibly including asset sales.

Its 6 7/8% notes due 2022 were big losers on the day, down more than 2 ½ point on the day at 84 7/8 bid a trader said, with nearly $60 million traded.

But its 8% notes due 2019 gained 5/8 point to close at 96 ½ bid, with over $27 million traded.

Indicators move up

Statistical market performance measures turned higher across the board on Monday for the first time in more than a week, after having been lower all around on Friday and mixed on Thursday. The most recent stronger session was back on Sept. 8.

The KDP High Yield index saw its first gain after six straight losses on Monday, improving by 2 basis points to end at 70.08, after having lost 5 bps on Friday.

The Markit Series 26 CDX index gained more than 3/16 point on Monday, finishing at 103 27/32 bid, 103 7/8 offered, its second advance in the last three sessions; it had been off by 7/32 point on Friday.

And the Merrill Lynch High Yield index rose by 0.13%, versus Friday’s 0.112% retreat, which had been its fifth loss in the previous six sessions.

That lifted its year-to-date return to 13.964%, up from Friday’s 13.816%, although it remained well down from the 14.992% return set on Sept. 8, its peak cumulative level for the year so far.

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