Apple has raised A$2.25 billion ($2.45 billion) with a debut Australian debt sale that's the largest bond deal Downunder by a non-financial company.
The iPhone maker sold A$1.15 billion of seven-year notes at a yield of 110 basis points more than swap rates and A$1.1 billion of four-year securities at a 65-basis-point spread.
Until November Apple had sold only US currency bonds but has since expanded its debt issuance to euros, yen, pounds and Swiss francs as well as Aussie dollars. It follows a A$700 million inaugural offering last month from brewer SABMiller and joins other overseas-based issuers such as Total and Toronto-Dominion Bank in making Australian debuts over the past 12 months.
"It certainly looks like a successful deal, especially if you consider the prevailing sentiment at this moment, it's not been the most positive of days to issue," said John Sorrell, head of credit at Nikko Asset Management in Australia.
Investors around the world sold riskier assets on Saturday as a gauge of Chinese manufacturing plunged to the lowest level since 2009. The recent selloff in corporate bonds has pushed average credit spreads globally to the widest level since 2012.
