Cisco Borrows $8 Billion in Bond Sale to Help Finance Buybacks
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Cisco Systems Inc. raised $8 billion with the biggest bond sale of 2014 to help finance stock buybacks after the shares lost almost 6 percent over six months.
Cisco issued debt in seven parts with fixed- and floating-rate securities in the largest offering of investment-grade bonds in the U.S. since Verizon Communications Inc. issued a record $49 billion in September, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Unlike that unprecedented offering and Apple Inc.’s $17 billion sale in April, Cisco’s transaction doesn’t include debt maturing in more than 10 years.