Meta Raises $10 Billion in First-Ever Bond Offering

Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc said on Tuesday it had raised $10 billion in its first-ever bond offering, as it looks to fund share buybacks and investments to revamp its business.

The offering would help Meta, the only one among big technology companies without debt on its books, to build a more traditional balance sheet and fund some expensive initiatives, such as its metaverse virtual reality.

Other tech giants such as Apple Inc and Intel Corp also issued bonds recently, raising $5.5 billion and $6 billion, respectively.

In late July, Meta posted a gloomy forecast and recorded its first-ever quarterly drop in revenue, with recession fears and competitive pressures weighing on its digital ads sales.

The company announced its first-ever bond offering last Thursday. The announcement came at a time when the social media company is making massive investments to fund its virtual reality projects. Back then, Meta did not disclose the size of the offering but said it would use the proceeds for capital expenditures, share repurchases, acquisitions or investments.

The company received an 'A1' rating from Moody's and an 'AA- rating' and a 'stable' outlook from S&P. Meta is selling four tranches of bonds with maturities ranging from five years to 40 years.

It might also be a rare opportunity to do so relatively cheaply in the current market environment. Corporate bonds have rebounded in the past month after a rout earlier this year, as investors hoped the US Federal Reserve's fight against inflation through rapid rate increases was starting to have some impact. © Reuters

August 10, 2022