Meta Platforms sells $15bn of bonds with coupons up to 7.500%
Underwriters of the earlier common stock offering also took their full option on 6 million extra shares, so Meta has tapped bonds, preferred stock and forward-sold equity since October 29.
Chart: META, one-minute prices, three sessions
Meta Platforms has sold $15bn of senior notes in five tranches maturing between 2031 and 2056. The coupons, the interest each tranche pays, run from 5.850% to 7.500%. The notes were issued on Thursday under the company's existing shelf registration.
The coupons are the point. They look like a market-set price for lending to Meta as it funds a commitment of roughly $825bn. The debt market was already wary: on October 23, credit default swaps hit a record and investment-grade spreads widened to their highest since March, on concerns about how AI is being financed.
The bonds are the latest step in a push that began on October 29 with a mandatory convertible preferred and a forward sale of shares. Taken together, bonds, preferred stock and forward-sold equity show Meta spreading the load across several channels rather than leaning on one.
On Wednesday, the underwriters in the common stock offering exercised in full their option to buy an additional 6 million shares of Class A common stock. Meta entered corresponding additional forward sale agreements with the forward purchasers.
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