The Baa1BBB rated credit appeared to be backtracking rapidly last night Thursday after existing holders of its debt reacted badly to news of plans to raise new funds. Investors said that Barclays and Salomon Smith Barney had already begun to pre-market an Eu300 million to Eu500 million 10 year deal and an unspecified second tranche of sterling bonds before the company announced that it had no definite plan to firm up any financing at this point in time.
At issue is the fact that the company had categorically told investors in its two recent dollar trades that it had no more plans to raise fresh funding from the bond market ahead of the...
