Apple offered investors $17 billion worth of bonds Tuesday in the largest company bond sale on record.
Apple issued $3 billion in floating-rate notes and $14 billion of fixed-rate securities in six parts with maturities from three to 30 years.
Proceeds are expected to help the company avoid repatriation taxes on its $102.3 billion held overseas. CEO Tim Cook will also return an additional $55 billion to shareholders by 2015 to compensate for a stock beaten down by signs of slowing growth.
More from GlobalPost: Apple Inc's shares fall below $400 for first time since December 2011 amid feared falling demand for iPhone, iPad
“It’s a high-quality name which brings in a lot of different kinds of buyers,” Ashish Shah, the head of global credit investment at New York-based AllianceBernstein LP, which oversees $256 billion in fixed-income assets, told Bloomberg in a telephone interview.
The only debt previously associated with Apple came nearly 20 years ago. The company sold $300 million of bonds at a 6.5 percent interest rate in February 1994, and the debt was paid back 10 years later.
Apple's bond sale is the largest on record, topping Roche Holding AG's $16.5 billion six-part deal in February 2009, which included $3 billion worth of one-year floating-rate debt, and AbbVie Inc.'s $14.7 billion six-part deal in November.
There is no paywall on the story you just read because a community of dedicated listeners and readers have contributed to keep the global news you rely on free and accessible for all. Will you join the 226 donors who have supported The World so far? From now until Dec. 31, your gift will help us unlock a $67,000 match. Donate today to double your impact!