World: AB InBev sells $1.8 bln of bonds in euros and pounds

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (ABI), the world’s biggest brewer, sold $1.8 billion of bonds denominated in euros and pounds after corporate borrowing costs fell to the lowest in three weeks in Europe, Bloomberg reported on September 17.

The average yield demanded to hold investment-grade securities dropped five basis points to 2.02 percent, the lowest since Aug. 27, Bloomberg index data show. The cost of insuring the debt against losses held at a 16-week low, with the Markit iTraxx Europe index of credit-default swaps falling 0.6 basis point to 93 basis points.

AB InBev priced 750 million euros ($1 billion) of seven-year notes to yield 48 basis points more than the mid-swap rate, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.The brewer also sold 500 million pounds ($795 million) of 12-year notes yielding 105 basis points more than U.K. government debt. It’s the company’s first sale in the currency since June 2009, the data show.

Karen Couck, a spokeswoman for AB InBev in Leuven, Belgium confirmed the company was selling bonds without providing any further information.

17 September, 2013