2nd UPDATE: ABB Treasury Center Debuts Rule 144a Debt Offering

ABB Treasury Center USA Inc. is selling its debut debt offering Tuesday in the private placement Rule 144a market, according to a person familiar with the deal.

The deal will include five- and 10-year senior unsecured pieces and will be sold later in Tuesday's session via active bookrunners Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank Securities and J.P. Morgan. It will be benchmark in size, meaning the combined total will be at least $500 million but likely more.

Preliminary pricing guidance suggests a risk premium in the range of 95 to 100 basis points over Treasurys for the five-year piece and about 112.5 basis points on the 10-year tranche.

ABB Treasury Center (USA) Inc. is one of two finance vehicles that help to secure external capital for Switzerland-based ABB Ltd. (ABB, ABB.SK), a large power- and automation-technology manufacturer. ABB operates in more than 100 countries and reported global revenue of $31.59 billion in 2010. ABB Treasury Center is based in Stamford, Conn.

While this is the first time ABB Treasury will be selling debt as the issuing entity, parent company ABB Ltd. has previously sold U.S. dollar-denominated high-grade issues.

Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

The deal has been rated A2 by Moody's Investors Service and A by Standard & Poor's.

-By Kellie Geressy-Nilsen, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2225; [e-mail]

--Nicole Hong contributed to this article.