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Wireless infrastructure provider Crown Castle International Corp. (CCI) has added an extra $300 million to its planned sale of junk bonds, taking the size of the deal to $900 million, a person familiar with the situation and KDP Investment Advisors told Dow Jones Newswires Thursday.

The deal was raised from the initial target of $300 million thanks to strong interest from investors, the person familiar with the deal said.

Crown Castle is one of three speculative grade companies looking to raise debt in the junk bond market Thursday as they seize the opportunity to raise cash to repay debt and fund their operations.

Petrohawk Energy Corp. (HK), which carries a B rating from Moody's Investors Service and a B3 rating from Standard & Poor's, plans to raise $300 million of 5.5-year bonds, while Tennessee Gas is looking for $250 million in what are known as drive-by offerings.

A drive-by offering means there is enough demand for a deal without borrowers having to do a long investor roadshow. They used to be fairly common in the junk bond area, but drive-bys have been few and far since the credit crisis began over 12 months ago.

Proceeds of Crown Castle's deal are earmarked for general corporate purposes. Joint bookrunners on the transaction are Morgan Stanley (MS) and Bank of America Corp. (BAC), according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Crown Castle is a household name in the junk bond market, but it hasn't tapped the market since 2003, according to Standard & Poor's unit Leveraged Commentary and Data. Back then, it sold $300 million of 7.5% notes. Most of that issue has since been redeemed, according to LCD.

There are no ratings on the new deal yet, but S&P rated Crown Castle B+. Moody's rated the company B1 before ratings were withdrawn.

All three deals are due to price later Thursday. Price guidance on Tennessee Gas' offering was released earlier Thursday. The bonds are expected to price at a discount of par value to yield 9-9.25%. The coupon is seen at 8-8.25%. Tennessee Gas is split rated, meaning it has an investment grade rating from one ratings agency and a junk rating from another.

Crown Castle shares recently rose 41 cents, or 2.2%, to $19.13.

-By Kate Haywood, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2348; kate.haywood@dowjones.com

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