BP vende $3.5 billones en bonos.
BP Sells $3.5 Billion in Bonds
By GUY CHAZAN And KATY BURNE NEW YORK—BP PLC sold a larger-than-expected $3.5 billion of five- and 10-year bonds Tuesday, according to people familiar with the deal, a sign that the energy giant is returning to a more stable footing after this summer's Gulf of Mexico disaster.
The sale by BP Capital Markets PLC, a funding arm of the U.K. energy giant, was originally slated at $2 billion to $3 billion but was increased as a result of high demand. There were $12 billion of orders, the people said.
"This shows that we're returning to business-as-usual, and normal financial management," said BP spokesman Andrew Gowers. He said the last time BP organized a bond issue on this scale was in August 2009, when it sold $2 billion.
The move came three days before Bob Dudley takes over as chief executive of the U.K. oil company, and just over a week after it permanently killed its rogue Gulf well, bringing the curtain down on a nearly five-month saga that crippled the company.
Reuters
BP had been expected to raise between $2 billion and $3 billion.
.A $2 billion, five-year tranche was offered at 1.95 percentage points over Treasurys and a $1.5 billion chunk of 10-year bonds was offered at 2.10 percentage points over Treasurys. The prices were slightly lower than the initial guidance on the senior unsecured bonds, which had been two percentage points on the shorter-term tranche and 2.15 percentage points on the longer-term tranche.
Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Mizuho Securities USA Inc. and Royal Bank of Scotland Group led the sale.
The bonds will be guaranteed by the parent company and are expected to be rated A2 by Moody's Investors Service and single-A by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, such as repaying existing borrowings, according to a company prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Capital markets were effectively closed to BP during the oil spill, when investors dumped its stock and the cost of insuring its debt against default soared. Debt-insurance costs have since fallen substantially, although BP's share price remains about 38% lower than it was when the Deepwater Horizon rig blew up April 20.
At the height of the crisis, BP arranged billions of dollars in unsecured credit lines to reassure markets of its ability to handle day-to-day operations. It also announced plans to sell $30 billion in assets over 18 months to shore up its balance sheet.
One debt-syndicate official in New York not connected to the deal said now was an ideal time for BP to return to the market because there was limited competing supply and the overall tone of the market was softening. "Nobody wants to be the last one to the dance," he said.