Apple plans $5 billion bond offering to cover stock repurchases, dividends, capital needs (Updated)
Having filed a prospectus today with the SEC, Apple plans to offer around $5 billion in bonds, following a 2013 bond offering of $17 billion, and a 2014 offering of $12 billion. While Apple’s corporate coffers stand at over $178 billion after its most recent record-breaking quarter, even thriving companies sometimes use bond offerings to fund projects, lessening tax consequences in the process.
Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs put together the offering, which Apple says will be used towards
repurchases of our common stock and payment of dividends under our program to return capital to shareholders, funding for working capital, capital expenditures and acquisitions and repayment of debt.
As noted by The Wall Street Journal, the bonds will mature in 5 to 30 years, with a 10-year bond offering a 0.95% greater return than government-issued Treasurys. Apple carries a Moody’s rating of Aa1, the service’s second-highest rating, suggesting that the investment is exceptionally low-risk.