Junk: Viasat bridge debt prices at deep discount; Worldpay comes in; Solenis below par

By Paul A. Harris and Abigail W. Adams

Portland, Me., Sept. 21 – Dealers offloaded $733.4 million of Viasat Inc. hung bridge debt in the junk market on Thursday, but the discount ended up being quite large.

Viasat priced the $733.4 million issue of 7½% senior notes due May 30, 2031 (Caa1/B/BB-) at 65 to yield 15.423%, on top of final yield talk, but around 140 basis points wide of initial guidance in the 14% area.

The bridge, put in place to support Viasat’s acquisition of Inmarsat, became hung up on dealer balance sheets in late 2022 due to market conditions.

Demand was heard to be substantial, a sellside source said, adding that 62 accounts were in the deal, 17 of which “got zeroed.”

Looking ahead, an unusually active September Friday session is in store for the dollar-denominated high-yield new issue market, sources said.

The active calendar contains $2.63 billion of offers from four issuers, each bringing a single tranche.

In the secondary, GTCR W-2 Merger Sub LLC’s 7½% senior secured notes due 2031 (Ba3/BB/BBB-) backing the buyout of Worldpay came in from the heights reached on a strong break.

However, the notes maintained a healthy premium in heavy volume.

Olympus Water US Holding Corp.’s (Solenis) 9¾% senior secured notes due 2028 (B3/B-) again dropped below par on Thursday after a nearly two-week uptrend that brought them to their highest level since pricing.

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