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Allison Transmission, Bausch & Lomb, CDW: Corporate Bond Alert

By Sarah Rabil and Fabio Alves

Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Allison Transmission, the automobile- parts supplier formerly owned by General Motors Corp., and Bausch & Lomb Inc. are among borrowers seeking to raise at least $104.3 billion of bonds in the U.S., according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Companies have sold $14.4 billion of bonds so far this week, compared with $28.6 billion last week. Corporate bond sales year- to-date total $964.5 billion, up from $792.2 billion a year earlier.

Following is a description of pending sales of corporate and other bonds in the U.S.:

Investment-Grade

KIMCO REALTY CORP., the largest U.S. owner of community shopping centers, boosted its proposed sale to $400 million of perpetual preferred stock, said a person familiar with the offering. The securities may sell as early as this week and may yield 7.75 percent. The shares can't be redeemed for five years. Moody's Investors Service rates the securities Baa2, the second- lowest investment grade, while Standard & Poor's ranks them one level higher at BBB+. Kimco, based in New Hyde Park, New York, hired UBS AG, Citigroup Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co., RBC Capital Markets and Wachovia Corp. to manage the offering.

CERIDIAN CORP., a provider of human resources and payroll services, plans to sell $1.4 billion of bonds to finance its buyout by Thomas H. Lee Partners LP and Fidelity National Financial Inc. The sale would be split between $1 billion of senior notes and $400 million of senior subordinated securities, the company said in a regulatory filing. Minneapolis-based Ceridian said it would issue $1.4 billion of bridge loans if the sale of bonds isn't consummated before the $5.3 billion takeover is completed. S&P rates Ceridian BBB-. Shareholders on Sept. 12 approved the takeover.

HOME DEPOT INC., the world's largest home-improvement retailer, in June announced plans to sell $12 billion of senior unsecured notes to help fund a planned $22.5 billion share repurchase plan. The retailer completed the $8.5 billion sale of its contraction-supply unit for $8.5 billion to a group of buyout firms, cutting the price by 18 percent, the company said in a statement distributed on PR Newswire. The retailer said it will hold a 12.5 percent stake in the unit after the sale. Moody's rates the company Baa1, while S&P gives it a BBB+.

MF GLOBAL LTD., a unit of Man Group Plc, the world's largest publicly traded hedge fund manager, plans to sell $1.2 billion of notes in two parts. The sale will consist of five-and 10-year notes, the Hamilton, Bermuda-based company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The securities will include a so-called poison put that would allow investors to sell the bonds back at 101 cents on the dollar if there is a change of control at the company, according to the filing. Proceeds will be used to repay a bridge loan. Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are managing the sale. Moody's gives MF Global an A3 rating, while S&P ranks the company BBB+.

Not rated or Split-Rated

TERRESTAR CORP., the wireless communications provider formerly known as Motient Corp., said it plans to sell bonds in a private offering through one of its unit. Proceeds will be used, among other purposes, to start construction of its satellite TerreStar-EUR, the company said in a statement. The amount and the terms of the securities have yet to be determined, the company said. TerreStar Global Ltd. a unit of Lincolnshire, Illinois-based TerreStar Corp. is issuing the notes, the company said. TerreStar Corp. is unrated.

CDW CORP., the computer reseller that is the target of a leveraged buyout, may sell up to $1.95 billion of notes in a private placement, according to a filing with the SEC. The Vernon Hills, Illinois-based company said it had arranged the same amount of bridge loans in case the note sale doesn't occur before the deal is consummated. CDW is being bought out by Madison Dearborn Partners LLC for $7.3 billion.

High-Yield

ALLISON TRANSMISSION, the automobile-parts supplier formerly owned by General Motors Corp., plans to sell $550 million of eight-year senior notes, according to a person familiar with the offering. Allison is selling debt to help pay for its $5.6 billion leveraged buyout by Washington-based Carlyle Group and Toronto-based Onex Corp., Canada's biggest buyout firm. Citigroup Inc., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. are managing the note sale, the person said. Moody's rates Allison's debt B2, while S&P ranks it B+. The banks are planning to market the deal to investors next week.

BAUSCH & LOMB INC., a maker of eye-care and surgical products, may sell $750 million of notes in three parts to finance a proposed buyout by Warburg Pincus LLC, according to S&P Leveraged Commentary & Data. The company's bankers cut the deal size from the original $1.05 billion, LCD said. The bond offering consists of $400 million of eight-year senior notes; $175 million of eight-year senior pay-in-kind toggle notes; and $175 million of 10-year senior subordinated notes, LCD said, citing unidentified sources. Bank of America Corp., Credit Suisse Group, Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are managing the sale, according to LCD. Moody's rates the company Ba1, while S&P lowered the company's rating to B+ from BB+ Oct. 4. S&P rates the proposed note offerings B-.

CONSTRUTORA NORBERTO ODEBRECHT SA, the Brazilian civil engineering and petrochemicals group, plans to sell as much as $200 million of 10-year senior, unsecured notes to fund expansion plans at some of its subsidiaries. The company's Odebrecht Overseas Ltd. unit will sell the securities, which can't be redeemed until after their fifth year. The securities are expected to be rated BB by S&P and BB+ by Fitch Ratings. Deutsche Bank AG and Credit Suisse Group, which are advising Odebrecht on the transaction, plan meetings with investors on Oct. 8 and Oct. 9 in New York, Boston and Los Angeles. Odebrecht is based in Salvador, Brazil.

SLM CORP., the largest U.S. provider of student loans, may sell $4 billion high-yield second-lien secured notes to help finance its buyout by firms led by J.C. Flowers & Co., according to a regulatory filing. SLM, also known as Sallie Mae, may negotiate a new takeover agreement after Flowers told the company it was no longer willing to pay $25.3 billion. Flowers told the company it was no longer willing to pay $60 a share because of legislation that will cut subsidies to student-loan providers and a slowing economy. SLM is rated A2 by Moody's and BBB+ by S&P.

INTELSAT LTD., the world's biggest commercial-satellite operator, plans to sell $5.11 billion of high-yield bonds to finance its buyout by BC Partners Ltd., according to Bank of America Corp. Credit Suisse is managing the offering.

UNITED RENTALS INC., the largest U.S. construction-equipment rental company, plans to sell $4 billion of high-yield bonds to finance its buyout by Cerberus Capital Management LP., according to Bank of America Corp., which is managing the offering. Greenwich, Connecticut-based United Rentals is rated BB- by S&P.

CLEAR CHANNEL COMMUNICATIONS INC., the largest U.S. radio broadcaster, plans to sell $2.6 billion of high-yield debt to finance its leveraged buyout by Thomas H. Lee Partners LP and Bain Capital LLC, according to Bank of America Corp. Morgan Stanley and Citigroup are managing the sale for the San Antonio- based company. Clear Channel is rated Baa3 by Moody's and B+ by S&P.

AFFILIATED COMPUTER SERVICES INC. founder Darwin Deason and Cerberus Capital Management arranged financing of $2.51 billion of high-yield bonds to fund their leveraged buyout, according to a March 20 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The buyout group will also receive $4.05 billion of bank loans if it doesn't complete the proposed $8.2 billion buyout of Dallas- based Affiliated Computer Services, the largest processor of student-loan payments. The company is rated Ba2 by Moody's and BB by S&P.

FIRST DATA CORP., the world's largest processor of credit- card payments, may sell at least $9 billion of notes to fund its buyout by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. First Data will issue $2.75 billion of senior pay-in-kind notes that permit it to use debt for interest payments for the first four years, then switch to cash until maturity in 2015, according to a regulatory filing on Sept. 17. First Data is also offering $3.75 billion of senior notes and $2.5 billion of subordinated securities. Banks sold $9.4 billion of term loans of a total proposed amount of $13 billion. Moody's assigned a B2 corporate family rating to First Data and S&P rates it B+. Goldman Sachs on Sept. 21 bought $1 billion of notes due in 2016 issued by First Data's unit New Omaha Holdings Corp. The 11.5 percent notes were priced to yield 695 basis points over Treasuries, according to S&P LCD.

TXU CORP., the Dallas-based utility being acquired by a private equity group, plans to sell $11.25 billion of bonds to fund the leveraged buyout, which will be the biggest in U.S. history, according to Bank of America Corp. TXU shareholders on Sept. 7 approved the $32 billion sale of the largest Texas power producer to the private equity group led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and TPG Inc. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is managing the sale. TXU is rated Ba1 by Moody's and BB by S&P. TXU received approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its proposed buyout, the final regulatory hurdle for the transaction.

ALLTEL CORP., the fifth-biggest U.S. wireless service provider, may sell $7.7 billion of senior unsecured bonds to finance its buyout. The sale would consist of $4.7 billion of senior unsecured notes and $3 billion of pay-in-kind ``toggle'' bonds, the Little Rock, Arkansas-based company said in a filing with the SEC in June. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and TPG Inc. on May 20 said they would take Alltel private in a $27.5 billion transaction. S&P cut its rating of Alltel to junk the day after the buyout was announced, lowering the company five levels to BB from A-. Moody's on the same day put Alltel on notice that it may downgrade its rating, which is currently A2. Alltel Shareholders on Aug. 29 approved the buyout, the company said in a statement. Shareholders cast 97 percent of votes in favor of the deal.

CABLEVISION SYSTEMS CORP., the largest cable-TV provider in New York state, plans to sell $6.22 billion of bonds to help finance the cable TV provider's takeover by its founding Dolan family, according to an SEC filing. The sale may involve pay-in- kind toggle notes. The financing package for the $22 billion purchase will also include loans and Cablevision shares. Bethpage, New York-based Cablevision's senior unsecured debt is rated B3 by Moody's and BB by S&P. CVC scheduled an Oct. 24 shareholder vote on the takeover.

US INVESTIGATIONS SERVICES LLC, the provider of background investigation and security services based in Falls Church, Virginia, may sell $440 million of debt in two parts to fund its $1.5 billion buyout by Providence Equity Partners Inc. The company has arranged financing of $250 million from a senior bridge loan and $190 million from a senior subordinated loan, according to Moody's.

UNIVAR NV, the largest distributor of chemicals in the U.S., plans to sell $600 million of senior subordinated notes, Moody's said. Proceeds will be used to help finance the Rotterdam-based company's 1.52 billion euro ($2.1 billion) takeover by CVC Capital Partners Ltd., New York-based Moody's said. Moody's gave Univar Inc., the unit issuing the debt, a corporate family rating of B2, or five levels below investment grade. Standard & Poor's assigned the company an equivalent B.

HARRAH'S ENTERTAINMENT INC., the casino company that agreed to be bought for $17.1 billion, may sell as much as $6.025 billion of bonds to finance the leveraged buyout. The world's largest casino company has financing of as much as $6.025 billion of senior unsecured bridge loans, according to a March 8 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A bridge loan is typically used in case the debt sale doesn't occur before the LBO is completed. S&P rates the Las Vegas-based company BB.

PT BANK MANDIRI, Indonesia's largest lender by assets, plans to sell as much as $300 million of bonds by early next year, Chief Financial Officer Pahala Mansury said. The bank will use the proceeds to ``repay maturing debt next year and to increase dollar liquidity,'' Mansury said in an interview in Jakarta. The securities will have maturities of between five and seven years. S&P rates the company BB-.

BASELL HOLDINGS NV, the world's largest maker of a key ingredient in plastic, plans to sell up to $7 billion of high- yield notes to finance its buyout of Lyondell Chemical Co. The sale may include senior secured second-lien notes, senior unsecured notes or both, according to a regulatory filing. The debt financing may involve a combination of dollars and euros. Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co. and ABN Amro Holding NV are managing the offering, according to the filing.

BCE INC., Canada's biggest telephone company, plans to sell $11.3 billion of senior and subordinated notes to fund its leveraged buyout. Montreal-based BCE hired Citigroup Inc., Deutsche Bank AG, Royal Bank of Scotland Plc and Toronto-Dominion Bank to arrange offerings of loans and bonds, the company said in regulatory filings. The company agreed to be bought by a group led by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, Providence Equity Partners Inc. and Madison Dearborn Partners LLC for C$51.7 billion ($48.5 billion). BCE is rated Baa2 by Moody's and A- by S&P. Bonds sold to finance LBO's typically receive high-yield, high-risk ratings.

ALTRA INC., which develops renewable fuel projects, plans to sell $130 million of senior secured notes due in 2018 through one of its units, S&P said. Proceeds will be used to help fund the construction of a 100-million gallon-a-year ethanol plant in Carleton, Nebraska, S&P said. Altra Nebraska LLC, a unit of Los Angeles-based Altra, is issuing the notes, according to S&P. S&P assigned the proposed notes a preliminary B rating.

SEQUA CORP., whose ARC Automotive unit produces air bags for Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp., plans to sell $700 million of senior unsecured notes, according to KDP Investment Advisors Inc. Proceeds will be used to help fund the company's buyout by the Carlyle Group, according to S&P's Leveraged Commentary & Data. Sequa said on July 9 it had agreed to be sold to the Washington-based private-equity firm for $1.99 billion. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is managing the sale of the securities for New York-based Sequa, KDP said. Moody's assigns the company a B1 corporate rating, while S&P gives it a BB-.

AVAYA INC., the world's biggest maker of corporate phone network equipment, may sell $1.7 billion of senior notes to finance its leveraged buyout by Silver Lake Partners and TPG Inc., according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Basking Ridge, New Jersey-based company has arranged $1.7 billion of bridge loans if the sale of notes isn't completed prior to the consummation of the buyout, the filing said. Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. committed to provide debt financing for the acquisition, according to the filing. Avaya's senior unsecured debt is rated Ba3 by Moody's and B+ by S&P.

SOURCE INTERLINK COS., a newspaper distribution company controlled by billionaire investor Ron Burkle, plans to sell $465 million of notes to help fund its $1.2 billion acquisition of Primedia Inc.'s specialty magazine business, according to S&P. The 10-year senior subordinated notes were rated CCC+ by S&P. Moody's gave the notes a Caa1 rating. Source Interlink, which distributes newspapers and magazines to bookstores and retail chains, is based in Bonita Springs, Florida.

ALLIANCE DATA SYSTEMS CORP., a credit-card processor, plans to sell $1.8 billion of senior unsecured notes and $410 million of subordinated bonds to help finance its buyout by The Blackstone Group LP, according to a regulatory filing. Dallas- based Alliance Data said it will use bridge loans if it doesn't complete the sale of high-yield bonds prior to the consummation of the buyout.

OAO RASPADSKAYA, Russia's second-largest producer of coal used in steelmaking, set the initial terms on its debut sale of bonds in dollars. The five-year notes will be priced at around 275 basis points more than the mid-swap rate, a benchmark for borrowing, according to a banker familiar with the deal. UBS AG and Citigroup Inc. are managing the sale. The company will sell $200 million to $250 million of the bonds, according to Fitch. Raspadskaya, based in Kemerovo, Russia, intends to use the money raised from the sale to refinance part of a $300 million bridge loan. Raspadskaya is rated B+ by Fitch and Ba3 by Moody's.

PARAMOUNT RESOURCES LTD., a Canadian oil and natural-gas producer, said it plans to sell as much as $300 million of dollar-denominated debt. The sale may consist of debentures, notes or other types of debt. Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, such as repaying debt and financing acquisitions. S&P rates the Calgary-based company B. Moody's gives it a Caa1 rating.

To contact the reporters on this story: Fabio Alves in New York at Falves3@bloomberg.net; Sarah Rabil in New York at srabil@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 5, 2007 06:35 EDT

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