GTE <GTE> SELLS DEBENTURES YIELDING 8.737 PCT
GTE Corp is raising 250 mln dlrs
through an offering of debentures due 2017 yielding 8.737 pct,
said sole underwriter UBS Securities Inc.
    UBS, the U.S. unit of Union Bank of Switzerland, won the
issue in competitive bidding against syndicates led by such
major U.S. houses as First Boston and Morgan Stanley.
    UBS has become the second foreign firm to manage an issue
in the domestic debt market this year, following Daiwa
Securities America Inc. However, investment bankers noted that
UBS was the first foreigner to break into the U.S. market when
it won a competitive bidding in June 1986.
    An officer on UBS's corporate syndicate desk said the GTE
issue is the fourth that the securities firm has managed.
    UBS bid the GTE debentures at 97.0025 and set a coupon of
8-1/2 pct and reoffering price of 97.50 to yield 112 basis
points over the off-the-run 9-1/4 pct Treasury bonds of 2016.
    Non-refundable for 10 years, the issue is rated A-3 by
Moody's and A-minus by Standard and Poor's.
    GTE last tapped the debt market when it sold on November
20, 1986, 250 mln dlrs of same-maturity, same-rated debt priced
to yield 9.388 pct, or 174 basis points over comparable
Treasury paper, underwriters noted.
    Underwriters said that two of the UBS-lead offerings were
negotiated deals. UBS won the other two issues in competitive
bidding acting as sole underwriter.
    Daiwa, the U.S. unit of Daiwa Securities Co Ltd of Japan,
ran the books for a March 11 offering of 200 mln dlrs of
10-year notes of Rockwell International Corp <ROK>,
underwriters noted.
    Thus far, Nomura Securities International Inc is the only
other foreign firm to manage a U.S. debt offering. The U.S.
unit of Nomura Securities Co Ltd of Japan, acting as sole
underwriter, won a competitive issue in early December 1986.
 Reuter
