The US investment-grade corporate bond market reawoke Tuesday with a roar, with five deals expected to raise around $20 billion after a six-day shutdown.
The deals represent the first IG offerings after a dry spell due to market volatility.
"We had a drought of issuance last week and investors do have cash to use," one syndicate banker told IFR.
Apple (Aa1/AA+) is leading the pack with an anticipated jumbo $10 billion to $12 billion deal.
IBM (Aa3/AA-) was also in the market, along with Toyota Motor (Aa3/AA-), Comcast (A3/A/A-) and BNY Mellon (A1/A/AA-).
They all announced deals after the first sign the market would be stable on Tuesday morning. Market participants said the deals would provide much-needed relief after last week's drought.
Everyone's eyes are on the jumbo Apple offering, and investors expect the deal to do well because the buyside has cash to put to work and because the bonds are cheap for Apple's name.
The market opened strongly Tuesday, riding the slight boost it got on Friday as oil prices stabilized. The world's largest oil producers late last week agreed to freeze their output.
The US high-grade CDX IG25 index was 1.78bp tighter at 120 on Tuesday morning.
Apple is testing appetite with initial price thoughts of Treasurys plus 75bp area, 90bp area and 115bp area on two, three and five-year fixed tranches.
Apple is also eyeing two, three and five-year floaters.
It is also coming with fixed-rate 10, 20 and 30-year bonds at initial talk of Treasurys plus 160bp area, 200bp area and 215bp area, and a seven-year Green bond at T+145bp area.
Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, and JP Morgan are acting as bookrunners.
Reuters
