Repeat Issuer BNSF Chugs Into Private Market
February 13, 2009
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. tapped the private market this week with an offering of lease backed notes. The deal is BNSF’s fifth entry into the U.S. private market since Jan. 2005.
The transaction, led by Citigroup, finished at a hefty $350 million in size, and priced in a single, 20-year final, eight-year average life tranche at 375 basis points over Treasurys. The company is an existing NAIC-1 credit.
BNSF was in the market with a private placement via JPMorgan Securities in the midst of the market disruption last September. However, the deal was among a handful of private transactions that were pulled around that time (See PPL 10/6/08).
Publicly-traded BNSF [NYSE: BNI] has an extensive private market resume stretching back to 2005 and covering $1.06 billion in private dollars.
In September 2007, BNSF tapped the market for $236.7 million in leveraged lease notes via JPMorgan. The deal had a 20-year final, 10.25-year average life tranche priced at 138 basis points over Treasurys.
In November 2006, the company got $215 million in senior notes via Banc of America Securities, Citigroup, and Wachovia, with a 17.3-year final, 9.1-year average life tranche priced at 79 basis points over Treasurys.
In 2005 BNSF tapped the market with two senior note deals. In October, via BofA and Barclays Capital, the company took out $165 million in a 17.3-year final, 8.3-year average life tranche priced at 68 basis points over Treasurys. In January of that year, BNSF also did a $95 million, seven-year final, four-year average life deal at 68 basis points over Treasurys, this time via Morgan Stanley.—GC
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