This blog is in a bind:
"Microsoft plans its largest bond sale ever" by Elliott Stam and Cordell Eddings, Bloomberg News February 10, 2015
NEW YORK — Microsoft Corp. is planning its biggest bond sale on record, taking advantage of investor demand for the highest-rated corporate debt.
The company will issue $10.8 billion of securities in six parts, including $2.25 billion of 40-year debt, said a person with knowledge of the transaction. Those bonds are being offered with a yield that’s 153 basis points more than for 30-year Treasuries, said the person, who asked not to be identified.
The company increased the size of its sale after earlier marketing $7 billion of debt.
Microsoft, one of only a handful of companies with top AAA ratings, is benefiting from demand for the safest debt as global growth and inflation remain stagnant. Companies with the highest credit rating have seen their borrowing costs fall to 2.36 percent, about 63 percent of the average over the past decade, according to the Bank of America Merrill Lynch AAA US Corporate Index.
“In this environment, a company like Microsoft will always get a certain level of demand that other companies won’t be able to get,” said Jody Lurie, a corporate credit analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia. “It’s clear investors are looking to put cash to work. Microsoft has tons of cash, but it doesn’t want to risk losing this opportunity.”
How about putting some people to work instead if sitting on cash to pay investors?
Microsoft last issued bonds in December 2013, when it sold $8 billion of securities in dollars and euros, its previous record offering.
Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, which may include capital expenditures, stock repurchases, acquisitions and debt repayments, according to a regulatory filing on Monday.
Looks like a $hell game to me.
In addition to the 40-year bond, the company is offering issues maturing in five, seven, 10, 20, and 30 years, the person said.
A Microsoft spokesman did not respond to a telephone call and e-mail seeking comment.
Microsoft’s second-quarter sales and profit exceeded analysts’ estimates as the world’s largest software maker benefited from growth in cloud services and a resurgent Xbox One game console. Profit excluding certain costs was 77 cents a share. Revenue rose 8 percent to $26.5 billion.
How come I'm not told how much they actually made?
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