News Corp. Raises $2.5 billion in 10 & 30 Year Debt (NWS)
News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS) managed to do something rather impressive considering the state of the media in the aftermath of the recession. Rupert Murdoch and friends raised close to $2.5 billion today via long-term senior note sales. What makes the…
The debt was sold as a 144A or private placement under the News America Incorporated unit. One issue was $1 billion of 4.50% senior notes due in 2021 fr a 10-year maturity. The second traunch was the 30-year maturity listed as $1.5 billion of 6.15% senior notes due in 2041.
The gross proceeds of $2,486,075,000 are earmarked for general corporate purposes, which includes the refinancing of near-term debt maturities. The company noted that its total assets as of December 31, 2010 were approximately $57 billion and total annual revenues of approximately US$33 billion.
Clearly, the cash was not needed. We have not seen the formal pricing on the deal yet, but the spreads appear to be about 85 basis points over the 10-year Treasury and about 145 basis points over the 30-year Treasury. Impressive enough.
JON C. OGG
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Jon Ogg has been a financial news analyst since 1997. Mr. Ogg set up one of the first audio squawk box services for traders called TTN, which he sold in 2003. He has previously worked as a licensed broker to some of the top U.S. and E.U. financial institutions, managed capital, and has raised private capital at the seed and venture stage. He has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as New York and Chicago, and he now lives in Houston, Texas. Jon received a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance at University of Houston in 1992. www.247wallst.com.
