SUNCOR OFFERS TO BUY US$1.5B OF NOTES TO CUT DEBT

Suncor Energy Inc. is offering to repurchase about US$ 1.5 billion of its own notes from bondholders as the company takes advantage of cash on hand to lower its debt load. Suncor Energy Ventures Holding Corp. has offered cash for notes with maturities between 2019 and 2042 with coupons as high as 8.2 per cent, the company said Thursday. The offer will expire June 22. HSBC Holdings PLC and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are the dealer managers. Sneh Seetal, a company spokeswoman, wasn’t immediately available to comment. Chief executive Steve Williams has focused on maintaining enough cash — about $3 billion at the end of the first quarter — to get the firm through the two-year-long commodity downturn while allowing it to continue projects, like the Fort Hills oilsands mine, and making purchases including the takeover earlier this year of Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. Suncor has about $15 billion in total debt, according to Bloomberg. Companies offer to buy back bonds before they mature as a method of reducing overall debt.