AB InBev sold the largest euro-denominated corporate bond

You cannot fault them for taking advantage of easy money. Ever since the European Central Bank announced in March 2016 that it will start buying corporate debt later this year – despite there being few details for the plan –, companies have flocked to Europe’s corporate bond markets. This would mean lower borrowing costs for European companies

AB-InBev sold EUR 13.25 billion (USD 14.8 billion) in debt on 16 March 2016 in the largest sale ever of euro-denominated corporate bonds. The company’s six-tranche bond deal had maturities ranging from four years to 20 in length, with an average fixed-interest rate of 1.55 percent. One of the bonds paid a floating rate of interest, media say.

Allegedly, the world’s number one brewer had only been looking to sell up to EUR 9 billion, but after the ECB’s announcement, the issue size was raised.

The company plans to use the proceeds to finance a portion of its USD 110 billion takeover of SABMiller.

Already in January this year, AB-InBev sold USD 46 billion of bonds in the second-largest corporate bond sale on record.