Bristol-Myers Borrows $19 Billion in Year's Biggest Bond Deal

  • Debt sale to fund $74 billion acquisition of Celgene
  • Credit rating firms likely to cut Bristol-Myers upon closing

Giovanni Caforio

Photographer: Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg
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Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. sold $19 billion of bonds in the biggest corporate debt sale of the year as it looks to finance its $74 billion takeover of Celgene Corp. and create a cancer-drug giant.

The company issuedBloomberg Terminal senior unsecured bonds in nine parts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The longest portion of the offering, a 30-year security, will yield 1.45 percentage points more than similar-maturity Treasuries, after initial talk of around 1.6 percentage points, said a person with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified as the details are private. The bond sale drew ordersBloomberg Terminal of $67 billion, the person said.