Planemaker Boeing raises $25bn in blowout debt sale

Company says bond offering averted move to take government aid during Covid-19 crisis

Boeing sold seven new bonds with maturities ranging from 2023 to 2060
Boeing sold seven new bonds with maturities ranging from 2023 to 2060

Boeing has raised $25 billion (€22.8 billion) in a bond offering, which it said helped the company avoid taking government aid during the coronavirus-induced travel downturn.

Boeing’s capital raise is the sixth-largest investment-grade bond offering of all time and the biggest year-to-date, according to Refinitiv data.

The Federal Reserve’s intervention in the credit market has boosted prospects for troubled borrowers such as Boeing.

The planemaker has been trying to bring its 737 MAX jet back into service after two fatal crashes, while the coronavirus pandemic has hammered aviation and other industries.

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Business shutdowns around the world to curb the outbreak have dried up demand for air travel.

Credit ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service Inc estimated this month that Boeing’s funding needs could top $30 billion in 2020.

The company secured about half of this by drawing down on a $13.8 billion credit line in March, Moody’s said.

Chicago-based Boeing sold seven new bonds with maturities ranging from 2023 to 2060. The new funds came at a higher price for Boeing than prior bond offerings, a sign of the company’s precarious financial situation.

S&P on Wednesday lowered its credit rating for Boeing to BBB-minus, one step above junk. – Reuters