Microsoft considers first-ever bond offering
Seattle PI | at | by Mike
Microsoft may sell bonds for the first time, seeking to use its pristine credit rating to extract funds from a market roiled by default concerns.
The company is considering senior unsecured debt securities, according to a regulatory filing Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The shelf registration clears the way for the company to issue debt at any time.
A bond offering from Microsoft, which carries top credit ratings from Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service, would be in high demand, said Brad Lutz, vice president of investment research at Declaration Management & Research LLC, which manages about $16 billion in fixed-income assets. It helps that the company operates outside the realm of finance, he said.