Ford Plans First Dollar Bond Sale in More Than a Year (Update1)
By John Detrixhe and Gabrielle Coppola
May 28 (Bloomberg) --
Ford Motor Co., the only U.S. automaker to forgo federal aid, plans to sell
8 percent notes due in 2014 in its first dollar-denominated benchmark offering in more than a year, according to a person familiar with the transaction.
The debt may yield 13 percent, said the person, who declined to be identified because terms aren’t set. A benchmark offering is typically at least $500 million. The sale may occur as soon as today, the person said.
Ford is taking advantage of loosening credit markets to bolster its cash hoard as it grabs market share from U.S. rivals Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp., said
Kingman Penniman of high-yield research firm KDP Investment Advisors. The company could avoid U.S. aid because it borrowed $23 billion in late 2006 before credit markets froze. Chrysler filed for bankruptcy protection in April, and GM may follow June 1, according to people familiar with its plans.
“They’ve been very, very successful and adept at getting the money when the money is available,” Penniman, president of the Montpelier, Vermont-based firm, said today in a telephone interview. “That’s basically why Ford is not a Chrysler or GM.”
As collateral for its 2006 financing, which Chief Executive Officer
Alan Mulally dubbed “the world’s largest home-equity loan,” Ford put up all major assets, including its headquarters and its blue oval logo.
Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford may return to profitability by 2011 because of progress in cutting costs and making cars more fuel efficient, Mulally told shareholders at a May 14 meeting.
Angie Kozleski, a Ford spokeswoman, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on the bond sale.
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