By Mike Cherney
Actavis PLC plans to complete a bond offering this week of more
than $20 billion in size, the latest sign of a booming bond market
and a deal which would rank as the second-largest corporate
offering on record.
The company announced the deal Monday morning and said it
planned to price the bonds on Tuesday. One investor following the
sale said the company was aiming to sell about $21 billion in
bonds, and that the company could accelerate the sale and complete
it on Monday.
Investors had expected the company to sell bonds as early as
this week. Pharmaceutical company Actavis needs the money to pay
for its $66 billion acquisition of Botox-maker Allergan Inc.
The company plans to sell bonds in nine parts, with fixed and
floating rates and with maturities ranging from 18 months to 30
years. A 10-year bond is being offered to yield about two
percentage points more than benchmark Treasurys.
The bond sale would rank behind only Verizon Communications
Inc.'s $49 billion bond sale in September 2013, according to recent
figures from Dealogic. Investment-grade firms such as Actavis are
selling bonds in the U.S. at the fastest pace since 2009, according
to Dealogic.
The Actavis bonds are expected to attract significant demand
from investors, given that rates on safe government remain
relatively low.
Write to Mike Cherney at mike.cherney@wsj.com
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