Dealers believe that Owens-Illinois will carve out 20% or roughly $500 million of its revolver for a term loan to make the paper more attractive to institutional buyers. Traders said small pieces of the name's revolver and term loan had been moving from dealers to institutions at 97 1/8 and 100 1/4, respectively. An official at the company declined to comment on the rumor noting the privacy of the bank debt.
Hughes Electronic's $600 million term loan, which recently broke into the secondary market, has been well received with $20-$30 million trading at par to 100 3/8. One dealer said the paper is believed to have traded as high as 100 1/2. The Bank of America-led deal blew out with more than $1 billion of commitments two weeks after its launch (LMW, 3/18). Market players said the name was trading among its original bank group as buyers look to fulfill their original hunger for the name. "We are pleased that the demand for our paper is strong," said George Jamison, company spokesman. He also noted that subscriber additions for the company's DIRECTV service will exceed earlier expectations in the first quarter.