May 12 (Bloomberg) -- Sony Corp., the world’s second- largest maker of consumer electronics, hired four banks to help it sell 100 billion yen ($1 billion) of bonds to refinance maturing debt, according to a banker involved in the deal.

Tokyo-based Sony, which last issued bonds in December, will sell three-, five- and 10-year notes with help from Nomura Securities Co., Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co., Nikko Citigroup Ltd. and Mizuho Securities Co., said the banker, who asked not to be identified before an official announcement.

Money raised will be used for “bond redemptions in 2010 as well as for daily business operations and investment,” Sony spokeswoman Mami Imada said in a phone interview, declining to provide further details.

Sony has 144.9 billion yen in bonds coming due next year as it heads for a second straight annual loss amid falling prices for televisions and cameras, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Sony, rated A2 by Moody’s Investors Services, joins Microsoft Corp. among companies with investment-grade ratings announcing bond sales this week as credit markets thaw.

“The funding environment has calmed quite a bit since the last issuance,” said Nobuo Kurahashi, an analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. in Tokyo.

Japanese corporate bond sales rose to 9.6 trillion yen in the last fiscal year, the most since 10.5 trillion yen was raised in the year ended March 1999, Bloomberg data show. Tokyo Electric Power Co., Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. and Japan Tobacco Inc. are among companies preparing to sell bonds as investor risk appetite returns.

Credit Risk

The Markit iTraxx Japan index of credit-default swaps, which reflects the cost of protecting Japanese corporate bonds from default, was at 240 basis points today compared with 432.8 basis points on April 1. A basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, is worth $1,000 on a swap protecting $10 million of debt.

Sony sold 10.7 billion yen of 1.403 percent five-year bonds as part of the December deal that were priced to yield 60 basis points more than similar-maturity government bonds. The spread widened to 61.7 basis points Jan. 27 and has since narrowed to 52 basis points, Bloomberg data show.

To contact the reporter on this story: Takashi Ueno in Tokyo at tueno@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 12, 2009 00:33 EDT