Hovnanian prices, new notes busy, firm; new McLaren gains; Sprint up on talks report

By Paul Deckelman and Paul A. Harris

New York, July 14 – The high-yield primary market – back at work after a lengthy mid-year hiatus – closed out the first week of the year’s second half on Friday with a sizable two-part offering from homebuilder K. Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc.

Traders said that both tranches of that $840 million offering of five- and seven-year secured notes firmed smartly in active trading when they hit the aftermarket.

The traders also saw continued strength in the dollar-denominated portion of Thursday’s two-part secured five-year issue from British performance carmaker McLaren Automotive.

The Hovnanian and McLaren deals helped bring the week’s total of dollar-denominated and junk-rated new issuance up to $2.24 billion, according to data compiled by Prospect News – versus the complete lack of any such new paper the week before, ended July 7.

Away from new or recently priced issues, traders noted considerable activity on Friday in Sprint Corp. notes, which rose in tandem with the wireless provider’s shares on news reports indicating that its chairman has recently held meetings with financial heavyweights Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway and cable and media tycoon John Malone, possibly concerning an investment in the underperforming telecom company.

Statistical measures of junk market performance were higher for a third consecutive session on Friday.

© 2015 Prospect News.
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