Although KKR's buyout of First Data Corp. closed Sept. 24, the deal continues to affect the financing market as the banks unload paper. On Oct. 16, underwriters Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC plc, Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch & Co. managed to sell $2.2 billion of high-yield bonds to investors. The bonds were priced at a steep discount of 94.796 (100 is par value), but the fact that they were sold at all helped further strengthen a bond market that has been rallying on its own over recent weeks. The recent bond issue helps pay down some of a $9 billion bridge loan that helped fund the deal. —
Vipal Monga
See recent TheDeal.com story on the threat of rising defaults
See Oct. 16 DealBook item about Moody's "cautious optimism" on First Data
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