Companies Rush to Sell Bonds amid Record-Low Yields

Monsanto Co. (MON), a Missouri-based agricultural biotechnology company, broke the record for lowest-ever coupon on a 30-year bond Monday as seven high-grade companies took advantage of a hungry buyer base.

The range of deals, including multi-billion dollar offerings from Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. (TKPYY, 4502.TO) and America Movil SAB de CV (AMOV, AMX.MX), follow a sleepy holiday-shortened week when less than $1 billion was priced, according to Dealogic. Syndicate desks are expecting $20 billion or more this week, with Monday's tally being at least $6.8 billion.

Monsanto sold $250 million of 3.60% coupon bonds at a yield of 3.608%, or 1.0 percentage point more than the 30-year Treasury yield. That beat the prior record-low of 3.70% set by McDonalds Corp. (MCD) on Feb. 2, according to Dealogic, whose records go back to 1995.

Monsanto also sold $250 million of 10-year bonds with a coupon of 2.20%, marking the second-lowest coupon in Dealogic records. They were priced to yield 2.213%, or 0.70 percentage point more than Treasurys. 3M Co. (MMM) maintains the record-low from its 2% coupon 10-year sale on June 21.

The deals are coming in the face of a weakening secondary market and a minor selloff in equities, but average corporate bond yields have never been lower, according to Barclays. Its index of high-grade bond yields finished last week at 3.18%, once again a record-low in four decades of data. The low yields--led by a rally in Treasurys, which corporate bonds are harnessed to--and the dearth of issuance last week are making it an ideal time to borrow.

Takeda, Japan's largest drug maker by sales, plans to sell a $3 billion bond deal evenly split between three- and five-year maturities.

The three-year dollar bond will offer investors 68 basis points over comparable Treasurys, and the five-year tranche will offer 100 basis points over comparable Treasurys, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Takeda plans to use proceeds from its benchmark-sized deal to repay debt from its acquisition of Nycomed SCA last year. It has spent nearly $15 billion in overseas acquisitions in the past two years to overcome expiring patents and a lackluster home market, according to a May 25 Dow Jones article.

America Movil SAB de CV, a wireless services provider in Latin America, is selling a $2 billion deal. At launch, it planned to sell $1.25 billion of 10-year bonds with a yield of 1.68 percentage points over Treasurys, and $750 million of 30-year bonds with a yield 1.88 points over Treasurys.

Also on the docket are Japanese auto maker Mitsubishi Corp. (MSBHY), Korea East-West Power Co., and Boston-based materials company Cabot Corp. (CBT).

Cabot is selling $600 million in 5.5-year and 10-year maturities to help finance its $1.1 billion acquisition of Norit, a Dutch maker of carbons.

Lastly, Icahn Enterprises L.P. (IEP) is adding $200 million to an outstanding deal of bonds due in 2018.

Write to Patrick McGee at [e-mail]