By Carol Dean
Deals keep coming in the European primary bond market Tuesday as
borrowers continue to take advantage of investors' search for
yield, while the cost of insuring European debt against default
edges lower.
"Cyprus is all but forgotten. We've moved on in spectacular
fashion leaving us with a super month for credit and the higher the
yield, the better," said Suki Mann credit strategist at Societe
Generale. "Spreads are tightening as a kind of hysteria grips the
credit markets through the new issue grabfest."
Amid the array of deals on offer is a two-tranche syndicated
bond from Slovenia, high yield deals and offerings from companies
in the fiscally challenged euro zone.
Here's a rundown of how the credit default swap market is
performing and who's selling bonds Tuesday:
CDS:
iTraxx Europe index: 1 basis point tighter at 100/100.5 bps
iTraxx Crossover index: 3 bps tighter at 404/407 bps
NEW ISSUES:
Volkswagen Bank GmbH, a unit of German car maker Volkswagen AG
(VOW.XE), is planning a two-part, fixed and floating-rate euro
bond. The floating-rate tranche will be three years and the
fixed-rate will be five years.
Irish telecoms operator Eircom via Eircom Finance Ltd. is
selling a 310 million euro ($405.3 million) 2020 bond with its
roadshow ending on May 9.
Portugal Telecom SGPS SA (PT) is planning a seven-year bond. The
initial price suggestion is a yield in the area of 4.875%.
Swiss-owned multinational chemicals producer INEOS Group
Holdings SA is planning a two-part bond to raise a combined total
of $678 million. The senior deal will comprise a 5.25-year bond
non-callable for two years and a seven-year bond non-callable for
three years.
Spanish lender CaixaBank (CABK.MC) plans a euro-denominated
senior unsecured bond. The issue will be of five-year maturity. An
initial pricing indication is around 215 basis points over the
benchmark reference rate.
Swedish lender Svenska Handelsbanken AB (SHB-B.SK) is planning a
benchmark-size, sterling-denominated, three-year floating-rate
note. Suggested pricing is in the area of 40 basis points over the
three-month Libor.
Slovenia has opened books on two new dollar-denominated bond
issues. The country is selling a five-year bond with a yield likely
to be around 5%, and a new 10-year bond at around 6.125%.
-Ben Edwards and Serena Ruffoni contributed to this article.
Write to Carol Dean at carol.dean@dowjones.com