US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin has launched a bond refinancing of up to US$3.4bn.
The company is seeking to exchange certain existing debt maturing between 2023 and
2040 with new 4.07% senior unsecured notes due 2042 plus cash.
The debt that…
US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin has launched a bond refinancing of up to US$3.4bn.
The company is seeking to exchange certain existing debt maturing between 2023 and
2040 with new 4.07% senior unsecured notes due 2042 plus cash.
The debt that Lockheed is looking to replace comprises its US$190m outstanding of 7% debentures due 2023, US$167.7m of 8.375% debentures due 2024, US$150m of 7.625% debentures due 2025, US$228.5m of 7.75% debentures due 2026, US$205m of 8.5% debentures due 2029, US$69m of 7.2% debentures due 2036, US$1.08bn of 6.15% notes due 2036, US$600m of 5.5% notes due 2039, and US$728m of 5.72% notes due 2040.
The exchange offer will expire on 12 December 2012. The minimum condition of the exchange offer is that at least US$250m worth of new notes are issued in exchange for the old notes.
The new notes are rated A- by Standard & Poor’s.
Meanwhile, Lockheed announced the acquisition of Chandler/May Inc, a specialist in Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (C4ISR) missions for unmanned aerial vehicles.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, although Lockheed stated that the price was not material to its results.
The UAV market has increased exponentially over the past few years with global spending predicted to double over the next decade from US$6.6bn to US$11.4bn, according to the Teal Group.
Lockheed’s rivals Boeing and Northrop Grumman have both sought to make bolt-on acquisitions to supplement this growing business.
It is also becoming an increasingly valuable revenue source for satellite operators, given the huge capacity demands that these drones require.
