There were a number of small trades of Nextel Communications' bank debt last week, with levels finally settling in the 95 range. "It had been moving up. These names tend to stay stable or trend upward, drop down, then slowly creep their way back up," a dealer explained, adding that the credit's massive size has helped it stay ahead of the hit to the telecommunications sector. "It's just so big and so liquid, it tends to be the bellwether of the industry. Everyone who's anyone is in Nextel," he noted.
Late last month, heavy telecom paper pushed down Nextel's levels to 92 1/2 (LMW, 4/25). The company has a $5 billion deal that breaks down into four tranches and expires in 2008. Bank of Nova Scotia, J.P. Morgan Chase, Barclays Capital and TD Securities lead the deal, according to Capital DATA Loanware. It is priced at 3 3/8 % over LIBOR.