By Katy Burne and Mike Cherney
High-quality companies hit the U.S. debt market Tuesday
intending to borrow about $3 billion, drawn by falling interest
rates and an optimistic mood among investors.
The rush of new bond sales comes on the heels of an issuance
boom Monday that topped $10 billion and was one of the busiest days
for new investment-grade debt deals this year.
Leading the charge this session is a unit of CenterPoint Energy
Inc. (CNP), with an $800 million two-part offering. Time Warner
Cable Inc. (TWC) and BB&T Corp. (BBT) each plan to sell $500
million in short-term notes.
Also in the market were technology distributor Ingram Micro Inc.
(IM), intending to borrow $300 million; utility Southern Co.'s (SO)
subsidiary Georgia Power for $350 million and real-estate
investment trust National Retail Properties Inc. (NNN) for $250
million.
The deals offer a mix of maturities from three to 30 years,
enticing both investors moving out of low-yielding Treasurys and
those seeking higher yields by going out into longer-term corporate
bonds. Company debt is benchmarked off Treasury rates.
The pace of issuance so far this month beats the first seven
calendar days of August last year, when $10.2 billion of new
high-grade bond sales hit the market, according to data provider
Dealogic. The busiest first week of August since 1995, however, was
two years ago when the first week of August saw $34 billion.
-Write to Katy Burne at katy.burne@dowjones.com
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