A corporate debt sale viewed as a barometer of US capital markets was ending with a fizzle, as bankers offered cut-price bonds and loans to fund a $16.5bn leveraged buyout of the software company Citrix.
Investor orders barely covered an $8.55bn debt package on offer, with many big money managers and hedge funds refusing to lend to the business, according to people briefed on the matter.
Orders for a $4bn secured bond being sold reached $4.6bn on Monday, the deadline for investors to signal their willingness to lend, three people said. Orders for a $4.05bn US dollar term loan were somewhat more robust at $5.5bn, people familiar with the deal said. Investors generally judge a bond deal to be healthy if orders are at least twice as big as the deal size.