By Patrick McGee Time Warner Inc. (TWX) is hitting the market with a billion-dollar bond deal, a rarity on Fridays and a sign that the corporate scramble to borrow is not letting up. The sale includes 10-year and 30-year, triple-B rated bonds. A banker on the deal said the mass media company was being opportunistic given the favorable reception other bond deals received this week. With market sentiment pretty stable, borrowing rates still low, and the potential for volatility next week, the window looked open for another new issue, he said. Large deals are often called "benchmark" in the morning, with the size being determined later in the day based on demand. But for a Friday, defining the size at $1 billion "helps people get their arms around what we're looking to do here," the banker said. Proceeds are for general corporate purposes, according to an early term sheet. This marks Time Warner's first deal of 2012. Last October, it sold $1 billion of 10-year and 30-year bonds bearing coupons of 4% and 5.375%, respectively, according to Dealogic. In a $2-billion deal priced in March 2011, coupon rates were 4.75% and 6.25% for the same maturities. The Time Warner deal follows a flurry of issues placed Thursday including jumbo-size sales from Ford Motor Credit Co., American Express Co. (AXP), and General Electric Capital Corp. That brought weekly issuance to at least $14 billion, surpassing forecasts of $10 billion. New deals have been performing well in secondary trading, helping to encourage investors and issuers alike to participate in the primary market. Deere & Co. (DE), for instance, sold 10-year bonds at 105 basis points over Treasurys on Tuesday; they are now trading at a spread of 96 basis points, according to MarketAxess. Write to Patrick McGee at patrick.mcgee@dowjones.com
