High Yield Report articles from March 2006

High Yield Report archives from March 2006

US Company News: Prepack Ch. 11 Ahead For SunCom?
March 6, 2006... Something is stirring at SunCom Wireless. Last week, its senior noteholders followed in the footsteps of those holding its subordinated notes, and organized a committee in response to SunCom's current financial situation. Subordinated holders...

Restructuring: Dana: A Long Road To Restored Profitability.(Dana Corp.)
March 6, 2006... The threat of bankruptcy may be felt more ominously than ever by Dana Corp. these days, especially following the auto supplier's two missed coupon payments last week. The missed payments follow a lengthening string of problems experienced...

Banks: Barclays Filling Out New Leveraged Group.
March 6, 2006... Fresh off of gardening leave, Goldman Sachs veterans Rick Van Zijl and Joe McGrath have already made a number of key hires as they attempt to build a US leveraged finance business at Barclays Capital. Just one month into the job, they have...

Market View: New Seasonal Pattern Emerging In Junk?
March 6, 2006... In what has lately been a very slow market for high yield bond issuance, one of the few recent deals to be announced was a $300 million drive-by transaction from Hovnanian Enterprises on February 22. The timing of the deal, coming just after...

CDOs: Older Vintage CLOs Make An Exit.(Collateralized debt obligations)
March 6, 2006... Asset managers new and old are scurrying to bring new collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) to the market to capitalize on the very healthy appetite for the structured product. Yet at the same time, a previous generation of CLOs is being...

Profile: Sovereign Brings Contrarian HY Strategy To John Hancock Fund.
March 6, 2006... John Hancock Funds' high yield fund is not your typical mutual fund that invests in high yield bonds. That's because it does not observe the higher quality investment mandate adhered to by many traditional high yield mutual funds. Rather, the...

Gainers & Losers: Unisys/GM.(General Motors Corp.)(Brief article)
March 6, 2006... On the gainers list last week was Unisys Corp., with its 8% notes due 2012 trading up 3.125 points to 99.75 by last Wednesday. Unisys reported fourth quarter 2005 earnings that, while negative, represent a vast improvement over its staggering...

Market Buzz.
March 6, 2006... Boutique investment bank Imperial Capital has hired five staffers to boost its sales and trading team. Andrew Meany has been hired as a vice president in high yield sales and trading, Harry Friedberg, Courtney Rudnick and Tom Levine have been...

AMG Data Services.(Brief article)
March 6, 2006... High yield mutual funds reported net outflows totaling $3.5 million last week, according to AMG Data Services, down from the prior week's outflows of $31.3 million. Last week marks the fourth consecutive week of outflows from high yield funds....

US Company News: Level 3 Issues Two-Tranche Deal.
March 13, 2006... Although investors anted up their cash for another offering of Level 3 Communications bonds last week, the company's road to the capital markets appears to be getting steeper. Last Thursday, Level 3 issued $400 million in new notes in two...

Market View: Euro Investors Demand Higher Quality Covenants.
March 13, 2006... Last year, leveraged buyouts (LBOs) seemed to lead a charmed life within the European debt markets. In the high yield market alone, LBO-related financings comprised a momentous 85% of new issues, according to Moody's Investors Service. It...

Bankruptcy: Energy Bankruptcies Not Going Away.(Energy industries)
March 13, 2006... Is the energy sector's spate of corporate bankruptcies at last reaching an end, or is another round just getting ready to begin? With Calpine Corp.'s bankruptcy filing in December 2005, some analysts believed it marked the end of the...

Europe: Euro HY Sluggish As HFs Look Elsewhere.(hedge funds)
March 13, 2006... The European high yield market has not had any new issues for the past couple of weeks, and sources expect this to be the case for at least the near term, as parties that had earlier selected the high yield market as a potential source of cash...

Funds: GoldenTree Goes Out With Old.(GoldenTree Asset Management)(Brief article)
March 13, 2006... Sometimes the toughest decision for a risk taker to make is whether to end a successful performance early and go out on top. The money managers at GoldenTree Asset Management announced such a decision last week with regard to its $750 million...

AMG Data Services.
March 13, 2006... High yield bond mutual funds reported net outflows totaling $185 million for the week ended last Wednesday, according to AMG Data Services. Last week was the fifth straight week of outflows for the asset class. (c) 2006 High Yield Report...

Middle Market Spotlight: A Transition Year For The Middle Market Distressed Debt Arena.
March 13, 2006... by Michael Murphy, managing director at AlixPartners and head of the firm's new San Francisco office It is beginning to look like 2006 will be a year of transition for the distressed debt market and, in particular, with respect to the...

Junior Capital Spotlight: The Investment Snags Of Pass-Throughs.
March 13, 2006... by Stephen A. Boyko and Arnold P. May, partners at Proskauer Rose Junior capital providers are encountering companies organized as "pass-throughs" (such as limited liability companies or partnerships) with increasing frequency. There is no...

Gainers & Losers: Dana/Exide.(Exide Technologies)(Dana Corp.)(Leucadia National Corp)(Charter Communications Inc)(Brief article)
March 13, 2006... Dana Corp.'s bonds got a boost last week following the auto part company's Chapter 11 filing. Many of its issues were trading above 70 as of last Wednesday. Sources attributed Dana's gains, in part, to the hedge fund convergence in the auto...

Market Buzz/Data.
March 13, 2006... As of February, Scott Giardina had departed Merrill Lynch's high yield trading desk. Giardina had been at Merrill since March 2003, when he joined the firm's London office as a director in credit derivatives trading, according to reports. He...

Issuer Spotlight: Young Prepares For Uphill Climb.
March 20, 2006... On the heels of mixed year-end results and recent cuts to its credit ratings, Young Broadcasting has strategically positioned itself for a turnaround. In the fourth quarter 2005, the company significantly grew its advertising revenue and...

US Company News: Debt Markets May Win Big On New Gaming Giant.
March 20, 2006... When Pinnacle Entertainment announced its agreement to acquire Aztar Corp. on March 13, debt market players collectively rubbed their hands at the deluge of business in the speculative grade debt markets such a union would yield. The merger,...

Private Equity: Sponsors Might Cash Out Of Wireless Towers.
March 20, 2006... Some four years ago, the wireless tower sector, like so many other technology-related industries, was left for dead after companies took on loads of high yield debt to fuel what turned out to be overly optimistic expansion plans. After...

Market View: Companies Favor Capex Over Deleveraging.
March 20, 2006... Growth, not cost control, seems to be the name of the game for companies these days. After several years characterized by significant corporate deleveraging, companies continue to leave the frugal times behind them to ramp up capital...

CDOs: Euro CDO Issuance Up From 2005.(collateralized debt obligation)
March 20, 2006... European collateralized debt obligation (CDO) issuance volumes in 2006 are up by more than 100% compared with the levels posted this time last year. Ten European CDOs came to market in February, bringing 2006 volumes to 6.6 billion ($7.87...

Profile/data: Creditex Adapts To Growing Derivatives Market.
March 20, 2006... Less than two years ago, Sunil Hirani, founder and CEO of Creditex, was talking about the need for Tradeable Credit Fixings in the derivatives market. Because the market had grown so dramatically, it was fundamentally necessary to have in place...

AMG Data Services.(Brief article)
March 20, 2006... High yield mutual funds reported $403.7 million in outflows for the week ended last Wednesday, marking the sixth consecutive week of outflows, according to AMG Data Services. Outflows were reported by 240 funds, while 135 funds reported...

Advantage Data: Gainers & Losers: United/Refco.(Brief article)
March 20, 2006... Topping the gainers list last week were United Airlines' 7.87% bonds due 2019, which rose almost 10 points. United expanded its flight offerings to include 15 new North American routes, with ticket sales having begun last week. The 7.87% notes...

Market Buzz.
March 20, 2006... Calyon in New York has hired Michael Stiuso and Kevin Golden, both formerly on the high yield sales desk at First Albany Capital. Stiuso joined Calyon on January 30, and Golden joined on February 21, according to records. Both have been hired...

US Company News: Is MSV Issuing Debt Or Equity?(Mobile Satellite Ventures )
March 27, 2006... The telecommunications boom and subsequent bust of the late 1990s left many high yield investors with vivid memories - most of them bad memories - of portfolios replete with defaulted debt that companies incurred through aggressive network...

Market View: Crossover Space Loosens Up I-Grade Investors.
March 27, 2006... The crossover space continues to grow and encompass a broader spectrum of high yield issuers, and while some highbrow investors might scoff at its existence and dismiss it as merely a case of twisted semantics for what is just a bunch of high...

Sector Analysis: Wireless Auction Could Reshape Landscape.
March 27, 2006... Several wireless carriers and possibly some cable companies are gearing up for a June 29 auction of wireless spectrum by the Federal Communications Commission that has the potential to create an important regional or national industry player....

Sector Analysis: Little Upside In 06 For US Auto Makers.(General Motors Acceptance Corp.)(Brief article)
March 27, 2006... General Motors Acceptance Corp. (GMAC) bonds popped up a bit last week, but analysts aren't hopeful that a few temporary windfalls will produce more than a bandage effect for the beleaguered US auto maker. Both the sale of 78% of the equity in...

Syndicated Loans: Banks Prep Bonds, Loans For Pinnacle, Aztar Merger.
March 27, 2006... Shortly after announcing its plans to acquire rival gaming company Aztar Corp. (HYR, 3/20/06), Pinnacle Entertainment disclosed it had hired Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns to provide a $3.4 billion debt financing package that includes both...

AMG Data Services.
March 27, 2006... High yield bond mutual funds accepted inflows of $48.9 million for the week ended last Wednesday, according to AMG Data Services. Last week's inflow breaks a six week chain of outflows. (c) 2006 High Yield Report and SourceMedia, Inc. All...

Profile: High Yield Vets Get Their Hands Dirty At Three Peaks Capital.
March 27, 2006... Their passion for the high yield market, backed by a hands-on research philosophy, means that analysts at Three Peaks Capital Management are constantly kicking the proverbial tires of the credits they invest in. "If there is an asset class...

Gainers & Losers: Delta/Dana.(Brief article)
March 27, 2006... The airline sector gained some ground last week, as both Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines saw selected bonds trade up at least five points. The International Air Transport Association said last week that it expects US carriers to lose...

Market Buzz.
March 27, 2006... As part of an effort to expand its leveraged finance business, Morgan Stanley announced on Tuesday that it has hired two Citigroup bankers, Whitner Marshall and Kevin Sisson, as managing directors in its leveraged and acquisition finance group....