Junk bond summit set for MGM Grand next month

Thursday, Oct. 28, 1999 | 10:47 a.m.

Four hundred high-yield bond industry players, many of whom helped finance transformation of the Las Vegas resort skyline with high-yield securities, are scheduled to meet in Las Vegas Nov. 10-13.

The first annual High Yield Summit at the MGM Grand Conference Center will draw bankers, analysts, mutual fund managers, issuers and leveraged buy-out financiers prominent in the $1 trillion high-yield industry.

The industry's bonds are generally called junk bonds because of their risky nature. The debt servicing capabilities of junk debt issuers are generally lower or questionable in comparison to debt issued by blue-chip companies.

Scheduled speakers include high-yield pioneer Michael Milken, who helped finance construction of the trend-setting Mirage hotel-casino and several other Las Vegas projects. Other speakers include Bill Baldwin of Forbes Magazine, Robertson Stephens founder Sandy Robertson, Softbank's Charlie Lax and chief executives from Fortune 500 companies.

Lorraine Spurge, a founder of summit sponsor High Yield Capital Association, said a limited number of representatives from Las Vegas companies will be offered discounted admission for conference sessions. She can be contacted by phone at 1-818-605-3740 or on the Internet at www.highyieldcapital.org.

The association's founders include financial institutions that have played critical roles in funding the growth of Las Vegas over the past decade. They include Bank of America Securities, Barclays Capital, Bear Stearns & Co., CIBC World Markets, Credit Suisse First Boston, Deuthsche Bank Alex Brown, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Co., Jefferies & Co. and Wasserstein Perella & Co.

During the summit, executives from MCI/Worldcom, Time Warner, Turner Broadcasting, Chrysler, TCI Telecommunications, Cablevision, 20th Century Fox, Occidental Petroleum, MGM Grand and other companies will be honored for more than 15 years of work in the high-yield marketplace.

"These are folks who went down a road less traveled, and stuck with it," helping fuel the growth of the high-yield industry, Spurge said.