US telco Verizon Communications has priced US$500m of 40-year notes at 97.08.
BofA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo are joint bookrunners on the transaction, which offers investors a fixed interest rate of 5.9%.
The notes are being sold…
US telco Verizon Communications has priced US$500m of 40-year notes at 97.08.
BofA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo are joint bookrunners on the transaction, which offers investors a fixed interest rate of 5.9%.
The notes are being sold for US$25 apiece in a bid to attract retail investors. The issuance of the so-called baby bonds diversifies Verizon’s investor base following its US$49bn corporate bond, which was snapped up by institutional investors.
It marks Verizon’s first trip to the bond market since the telco’s record-breaking issuance last September used to fund the US$130bn consolidation of Verizon Wireless.
The colossal offering was originally going to include euro and sterling tranches. However, demand in the US was so high that Verizon did not need to tap European markets, which leaves it with further diversification options for future offerings.
Earlier this week Verizon’s shareholders approved the Verizon Wireless deal, as did investors in seller Vodafone Group. That deal is expected to close on 21 February, while Verizon anticipates closing the baby bond issuance on 6 February.
