Bristol-Myers Gets Record Low Coupons in $2 Billion Debt Issue
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) obtained record low coupons in its $2 billion debt sale, for five- and 30-year dollar-denominated corporate debt.
The biopharmaceutical producer sold its five-year notes with a 0.875 percent coupon and its 30-year securities at 3.25 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Proceeds from the company’s first debt sale in more than four years will help fund its $5.3 billion purchase of Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc (AMLN), said a person familiar with the transaction.
The maker of the blood thinner Plavix sold $750 million of five-year debentures at an issue price of 99.091 cents on the dollar and a yield of 1.06 percent, Bloomberg data show. It also issued $500 million of 30-year bonds at 96.335 cents on the dollar and a 3.45 percent yield.
The coupons beat the previous five-year record of 1 percent on 3M Co.’s June 2017 notes and the 30-year low of 3.375 percent on Temasek Holdings Pte’s July 2042 bonds, the data show.
Bristol-Myers’s sale also included $750 million of 2 percent, 10-year debentures that sold at an issue price of 98.514 cents on the dollar and a yield of 2.17 percent, the data show.
The company last offered debt in April 2008, selling $600 million of 5.45 percent, 10-year securities and $1 billion of 6.125 percent, 30-year debentures, both at a yield of 165 basis points more than benchmarks, the data show.
The new bonds are rated A2, the sixth-highest level of investment grade, by Moody’s Investors Service, the data show. The bonds can be redeemed at 101 cents on the dollar if the acquisition isn’t completed by Dec. 31, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the terms are private.
Managers on the deal included Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp., Barclays Plc, Deutsche Bank AG, Wells Fargo & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., the data show.
Bristol-Myers announced its purchase of Amylin, a maker of diabetes therapies, in June as it seeks to replace revenue from its top-selling blood thinner that’s facing generic competition.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sarika Gangar in New York at
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