UPDATE:Cellco/Verizon Wireless To Sell 5,3-Year Bonds -Source
31 January 2009 - 5:09AM
Dow Jones News
Cellco Partnership/Verizon Wireless Capital is in the
investment-grade corporate bond market Friday with a new
benchmark-sized offering, according to a person familiar with the
deal.
The deal comes just a day after highly rated companies sold $16
billion in new bonds, as borrowers jostle to capitalize on renewed
investor confidence.
Proceeds of the Cellco Partnership/Verizon Wireless' bonds will
be used to repay a portion of the money the company borrowed in
June to support its acquisition of regional telecoms group, Alltel
(AT) from private-equity firm TPG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
(GS), according to the person.
The amount of bonds to be sold is still being determined, but
the benchmark-size means that Cellco Partnership/Verizon Wireless
Capital is planning to sell at least $500 million of bonds. One
investor looking at the deal said, however, he expects the company
to raise at least $1 billion with this transaction.
The Cellco deal originally was just a five-year bond, but a
three-year note was added later. The spread, or risk premium, on
the five-year is around 395 basis points over Treasury yields and
the three-year fixed portion would be 15 to 20 basis points wider
of the five-year spread, according to another person familiar with
the deal.
For comparison, fellow telecommunications company AT&T Inc.
(T) sold $5.5 billion of bonds in three parts Thursday. One tranche
of the deal was a $1 billion 4.85% bond due 2014. That priced at a
discount to par value at 99.994 to give a 4.851% yield and a spread
of 300 basis points over Treasurys.
Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Royal Bank Of Scotland are joint
lead managers on Cellco Partnership/Verizon Wireless' bond deal.
They were also part of the seven-strong bank group which sold about
$2.4 billion of bonds to investors in Europe for the company in
December.
Cellco Partnership is a Delaware general partnership doing
business as Verizon Wireless. Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) owns
55% of the partnership, while the U.K.'s Vodafone Group PLC
(VOD.LN) owns 45%, according to Fitch Ratings.
- By Kate Haywood, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2348;
kate.haywood@dowjones.com
(Romy Varghese contributed to this report.)
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