Corporate bonds
US companies rush to reprice debt as higher rates loom
Strong investor demand for loan funds helps underpin record repricing
move
The robust activity reflects investors anticipating higher interest rates in light of forecasts of a stronger US economy under Donald Trump
JANUARY 16, 2017by: Joe Rennison and Eric Platt in New York
US companies have rushed to renegotiate their loans at the start of the year,
taking advantage of strong investor demand for debt that is more insulated
against an expected rise in interest rates.
January’s re-pricing volume has already reached $41.6bn — the highest monthly
volume since January 2013 with a further two weeks before the month ends,
according to data from LCD, an offering of S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The robust activity reflects investors anticipating higher interest rates in the
coming year in light of forecasts of a stronger US economy under the incoming
administration of Donald Trump. That sets the stage for policy tightenings from
In contrast with many bonds and other debt securities, loans provide some
protection for portfolios in an environment of rising interest rates because they
pay a set amount on top of a floating rate
(http://next.ft.com/content/e4c3e0f4-c24f-11e6-81c2-f57d90f6741a) benchmark.
Investors poured another $1.3bn of cash into loan funds in the week to January
11, according to fund flows tracked by Lipper. Loan funds, which invest in
company borrowings, have recorded inflows for nine consecutive weeks.
As money flows into the sector, it has spurred a supply-demand imbalance, with
even riskier deals that struggled to close in the sell-off of 2015 finding willing
buyers today, said Robert Cohen, the head of global developed credit at asset
manager DoubleLine Capital.
“Investors are relaxing their investing standards and are more willing to accept
riskier companies,” Mr Cohen added. “Investors have to put the money to work
so loan prices get bid up. If you're a borrower and see your loan significantly
above par . . . that’s a good indication you could drive a little spread out of your
loan.”
Some of the largest deals to take advantage of the favourable environment
include a $2.65bn raising from mobile phone technology company Asurion, a
$2.5bn loan consolidating debt from animal supplies group Petco and a $2.2bn
repricing from Travelport, a payment and technology platform for the tourism
industry.
Asurion’s loan will pay investors 3.25 per cent above Libor, reducing the
company’s borrowing costs from Libor plus 4 per cent. When a company is
looking to re-price, investors in the existing debt can lose out if they do not
agree to the new deal, getting paid back on the original value of the loan, even if
it is trading with a higher price.
“We are seeing strong demand right now,” said Christina Padgett, an analyst at
because demand is strong and pricing is still attractive. And that may not
persist.”
The average saving for companies repricing loans in January stood at almost 80
basis points, according to LCD, up from 70bp a month before.
Those deals, which included loan offerings from Kraton Polymers and NN Inc
that had been postponed in 2015
(http://next.ft.com/content/1739feb4-f15a-11e5-9f20-c3a047354386) because of market turbulence, rebounded after
selling at steep discounts. Late last year Kraton successfully cut the rate on its
$1.28bn term loan by a full percentage point.
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