HS Healthspring Healthspring Inc. Common Stock

Corporate borrowers returned to the debt markets in droves Thursday offering nearly $6 billion of new bonds, fearing sessions earlier in the week were too volatile and next week may be too crowded.

Medical devices maker Becton, Dickinson and Co. (BDX) led the charge, offering $1.5 billion of 5- and 10-year senior notes. Toothpaste and cosmetics maker Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL) was close behind, with $1 billion of 3-, 5- and 10-year securities.

One syndicate manager said the day's tally could reach as high as $9 billion, but as of mid-morning many deals had not been sized.

Demand is strong because money managers have lots of cash on hand and are under pressure to put it to work in investments that earn decent returns but are still safe, he said. Issuers, meanwhile, are eager to borrow while rates are still low and investors view bonds as a safer alternative to unpredictable stocks and other volatile assets.

Issuance exploded last week after European policy makers announced a rescue deal for Greece, but optimism about the viability of that plan soon faded. Corporate borrowers sold $13.7 billion of bonds last week, according to data provider Dealogic, in an end-of-month burst that brought the monthly total to $45.2 billion.

Issuance levels "experienced a resurrection at the end of October as spreads narrowed sharply and yields fell on hopes of a resolution of the European sovereign crisis," David Munves, divisional managing director at Moody's Capital Markets Research Inc., wrote in a note Thursday.

Other recent big-volume days for corporate debt sales include $7.4 billion on Oct. 12 and $12.3 billion on Sept. 14, Dealogic data show.

In addition to the offerings from Becton, Dickinson and Colgate-Palmolive, new issues Thursday include a three-part, minimum $500 million sale for Cigna Corp. (CI) to help fund its $3.8 billion acquisition of HealthSpring Inc. (HS); and a two-part $600 million deal for toymaker Mattel Inc. (MAT) to help fund its $680 million acquisition of HiT Entertainment from a consortium led by Apax Partners funds.

Also on deck is a four-part benchmark deal for a unit of mining giant Xstrata Plc (XTA.LN); a $500 million, 10-year deal for privately held food and agricultural products maker Cargill Inc.; a $400 million sale of 7-year debt for the commercial real-estate firm Boston Properties Inc.(BXP); and a $250 million deal for Tucson Electric Power Co., a unit of UniSource Energy Corp. (UNS).

-By Katy Burne, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3084; katy.burne@dowjones.com

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