By Anna Prior
Verizon Communications Inc. on Monday announced the pricing of
$8.2 billion in debt that comes due between 2016 and 2018.
Last week, the telecommunications giant offered to buy back the
older bonds as part of a refinancing plan at above-market
rates.
The company at that time was shopping $4.5 billion in debt to
investors in its largest U.S. sale since its mammoth $49 billion
deal in September.
That deal, the largest corporate bond sale on record, helped
finance the $130 billion acquisition of Vodafone Group PLC's stake
in Verizon Wireless. In February, Verizon sold roughly $5.4 billion
worth of debt denominated in euros and sterling, also to help
finance the acquisition.
In January, Verizon sold $500 million in bonds in the U.S., in a
deal geared toward individual investors. The latest sale was
directed at institutional investors, such as pension funds,
insurance companies and mutual funds.
The Verizon sale comes after investment-grade companies sold
roughly $48 billion in debt earlier this month.
Write to Anna Prior at anna.prior@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires