Actavis to Tap Bond Market This Week With Mega Deal

By Mike Cherney 

Actavis PLC plans to complete a bond offering this week of more than $20 billion in size, the latest sign of a booming bond market and a deal which would rank as the second-largest corporate offering on record.

The company announced the deal Monday morning and said it planned to price the bonds on Tuesday. One investor following the sale said the company was aiming to sell about $21 billion in bonds, and that the company could accelerate the sale and complete it on Monday.

Investors had expected the company to sell bonds as early as this week. Pharmaceutical company Actavis needs the money to pay for its $66 billion acquisition of Botox-maker Allergan Inc.

The company plans to sell bonds in nine parts, with fixed and floating rates and with maturities ranging from 18 months to 30 years. A 10-year bond is being offered to yield about two percentage points more than benchmark Treasurys.

The bond sale would rank behind only Verizon Communications Inc.'s $49 billion bond sale in September 2013, according to recent figures from Dealogic. Investment-grade firms such as Actavis are selling bonds in the U.S. at the fastest pace since 2009, according to Dealogic.

The Actavis bonds are expected to attract significant demand from investors, given that rates on safe government remain relatively low.

Write to Mike Cherney at [e-mail]

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