Huntsman Corp.'s term loan was active last Wednesday. It started the day at par 1/4-1/2 got up to as high as par 5/8-7/8 and then settled back down to par 1/2-3/4. "It's really trading on no news," one dealer said. Another said he saw a handful of trades in the name, but didn't think there was any specific reason. "Everything is up," he said.
Sean Douglas, treasurer, said he could not pinpoint one reason why the debt may have traded, but did note the company had completed the sale of its UK-based European commodity chemicals business to Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) the week before. He said that served as a "deleveraging exercise," but it was a move anticipated by the market. "We continue to do things here and paying down debt is a plan we are [continuing]." He does not anticipate tapping the bank market again soon; "not unless some specific need, not that I could perhaps comment on," he said.
The company went back to the loan market at the end of June for a $100 million add-on to its existing term loan "B." Deutsche Bank leads the credit, which is priced at LIBOR plus 1 3/4% (CIN, 7/3).