Lyondell Chemical was one of the most actively traded names in the loan-only credit default swaps space last week. A dealer said trading in the name has picked up since Lyondell's $1.775 billion term loan broke in the secondary two weeks ago. "There is a lot of customer interest," said the trader. He added LCDS trading had been inactive in the name until the new loan deal. The LCDS traded at 90 basis points. The chemical company's unsecured credit default swaps were also trading actively at 228 basis points, according to GFI Group.
Lyondell's term loan is part of a new $2.575 billion credit facility, which the company will use to buy out the 41.25% stake CITGO Petroleum has in Lyondell-CITGO Refining (CIN, 9/15). JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley lead the credit line, which will also be used to refinance debt. A Lyondell spokeswoman could not be reached for comment.