Ameren Corp. & Visa Inc. Upsize Debt Offerings; QC 03-31-20

by | Mar 31, 2020 | Debt Market Commentary, Equities Market Commentary, Recent Deals

 IG Corporate Primary & Secondary Market Talking Points – Mischler on Ameren Corp. long 10-year and $4b 3-part Visa Inc

Below is excerpted from the 03-31-20 edition of “Quigley’s Corner”, authored and published by Ron Quigley, Mischler Financial Group Managing Director & Head of Fixed Income Syndicate.

Today the IG Corporate dollar DCM hosted 14 issuers across 18 tranches totaling $13.88b. The SSA space added 3 issuers and 5 tranches for $11.25b bringing the all-in IG day totals to 17 issuers, 23 tranches and $25.13b.

 Here’s a recap of the unbelievable amount of volume we’ve seen in March and Q1:

  • Highest Volume Day of 2020 for IG Corporate Volume Monday, March 30, 2020 $37.175b.
  • Most Daily all-in IG Corporate and SSA volume YTD of $40.95b on Thursday, March 26th, 2020.
  • Largest Non-M&A related IG Corporate Transaction in History – Oracle Corp’s $20b 6-part on Monday, March 30th, 2020.
  • Highest Weekly Volume for IG Corporates ever (Week of 3/23-27) recorded with $109.30b annihilating the old record of $77.181b. That’s $32.119b more or +41.62%!
  • Highest all-in (IG Corps + SSA) Weekly Volume in history (Week of 3/23-27) with $115.45b destroying the old record of $85.531b by $29.919b or +34.98%.
  • Highest Monthly IG Corporate-only Volume on Record (March 2020) of $260.77b crushing the old record of $172.383b set in January 2017 by $88.387b or by +51.27%  
  • Highest Quarterly Volume for IG Corporates in history (Q1 2020) with $501.92b obliterating the old record set in Q1 2017 of $393.081b by $108.839b or 27.69%

Highest Quarterly Volume for all-in IG Corporate plus SSA issuance in history (Q1 2020) with $599.095b vs. Q1 2017’s $506.141b which is +92.954b more or +18.37

 IG Corporate Primary & Secondary Market Talking Points – Mischler on Ameren Corp. long 10-year and $4b 3-part Visa Inc. *Denotes new high or low

  •  Ameren Corp. upsized today’s long 10-year Senior Notes transaction to $800mm from $500mm at a 65 bps tighter launch and after skipping guidance.
  • Thank you to Team Ameren Corp. Treasury/Funding for utilizing Mischler Financial Group, Inc. our nation’s oldest Service Disabled Veteran owned and operated broker dealer to fulfill your internal diversity procurement initiatives. We appreciate the opportunity to serve you.
  • Mischler also thanks to Visa Inc. Treasury/Funding for their selection of our SDVBE platform on today’s $4b 3-part Senior Notes new issue comprised of 7s, 10s and a 20-year as a Passive Co-Manager.
  • Dominion Energy Inc. re-launched today’s 10-year Senior Notes new issue upsizing it to $1.5bn from $1.35b.
  • Idaho Power Co. increased today’s tap of its 4.20% FMBs due 3/01/2048 to $230mm from $220mm at a 20 bps tighter launch and after skipping guidance.
  • General Mills Inc. upsized today’s 10-year Senior Notes new issue to $750mm from $500mm at a 50 bps tighter launch and after skipping guidance.
  • The average spread compression from IPTs and/or guidance thru the launch/final pricing of today’s 17 IG Corporate-only new issue was <50.74> bps.
  • ICE BAML’s IG Index tightened 9 bps to +315 vs. +324.  (It’s post-Crisis low is +90 set on 2/01).
  • Bloomberg/Barclays US IG Corporate Bond Index OAS tightened 11 bps to 2.84 vs. 2.95. (1.57 represents the high on 1/03/2019; 0.85 is the post-Crisis low set on 2/01/2018).
  • Standard & Poor’s Investment Grade Composite Spread tightened 5 bps to +313 vs. +318. (+125 represents its post-Crisis low set 2/02).
  • Investment grade corporate bond trading posted a final Trace count of $26.6b on Monday versus $26.8b on Friday and $25.2b the previous Monday.
  • The 10-DMA stands at $27.3b.
  • For the week ended March 25th, Refinitiv Lipper U.S. Fund Flows reported an outflow of $38.02b from Corporate Investment Grade Funds (2020 net outflow of $42.36b) and rather miniscule by comparison outflows of $2.03b from High Yield Funds (2020 net outflow of $16.416b).

 

NICs, Bid-to-Covers, Tenors, Sizes and Average Spread Compression from IPTs thru Launches 

Here’s a review of this week’s five key primary market driver averages for IG Corporates only through Monday’s session followed by the averages over the prior six weeks:

Above is the opening extract from Quigley’s Corner aka “QC” March 31. 2020 edition distributed via email to institutional investment managers, lead underwriter syndicate desks and Fortune Treasury clients of Mischler Financial Group, the investment industry’s oldest diversity-certified broker-dealer owned and operated by Service-Disabled Veterans. 

The QC is a daily synopsis of everything Syndicate and Secondary as seen from the perch of Mischler’s primary debt capital markets desk. Commentary includes a comprehensive “deep dive” with optics on the day’s investment-grade corporate debt new issuance and secondary market data encompassing among other items, comparables, investment-grade credit spreads, new issue activity, secondary market most active issues, and upcoming deal pipeline.To receive Quigley’s Corner, please email: rquigley@mischlerfinancial.com or via phone 203.276.6646 

*Sources: Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, Bloomberg, Bond Radar, Dow Jones Newswire, IFR, Informa Global Markets, Internal Mischler, ITC Markets, Market News International, Prospect News, Stone & McCarthy Research, Refinitiv, Thomson Reuters and of course, a career of sources, contacts, movers and shakers from syndicate desks to accounts; from issuers to originators; from academicians to heads of research, and a host of financial journalists, et al.