Apple set to raise $2.5B in debut Canadian bond sale

Apple Inc. is selling $ 2.5 billion of seven- year bonds in Canada to fund stock buybacks and dividends in what would be the biggest singletranche debt offering by a foreign issuer in Canadian dollars.

The technology firm is expected to price the senior unsecured bond deal at a spread of about 80 basis points over the benchmark yield, according to Bradley Meiers at HSBC Bank Canada. Apple had targeted a minimum size of $ 1.5 billion at a spread of about 83 basis points, plus or minus three basis points, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the details are private.

It would be first Canadian bond sale for Apple and t he l argest s i ngletranche deal in Canada’s Maple bond market after Anheuser- Busch InBev’s $ 2- billion two- part sale in May. This has been the busiest year since 2007 for foreign issuers selling debt in Canadian dollars, with about $ 12.7 billion raised, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Technology companies have been active debt issuers globally, including a debut bond from Tesla Inc. on Aug. 11, and a US$16 billion sale Tuesday from Amazon.com Inc.

“To be able to buy an issuer of this quality and a well- known entity in Canadian dollars is a very easy decision for most investors to make,” Meiers said in an interview.

Requests for comment from Apple weren’t immediately returned.

It’s Apple’s sixth trip to the bond market this year after it issued US$ 18 billion in the U.S. in three sales. It also sold US$ 1 billion in Taiwan and offered euro-denominated notes. The company said in its earnings report Aug. 1 that revenue will be US$ 49 billion to US$ 52 billion in the three months through September, compared with analysts’ average forecast of US$ 49.1 billion. The outlook — along with increasing sales of other products and services — calmed investor concern that demand for iPhones was stagnating ahead of the company’s launch of its new models, sending shares soaring to record highs.

International corporate issuers such as AT&T Inc., PepsiCo Inc., and United Parcel Service Inc. have been capitalizing on competitive pricing in the Canadiandollar bond market this year, driven by still- low interest rates and an investor search for yield and diversity. Maple bonds are securities in the Canadian dollar offered by foreign companies.

S& P Global Ratings ass i gned a double- A- plus rating to Cupertino, Calif.based Apple’s new issue.