They say timing is everything.
That was especially true for Comcast Corp., which managed to save nearly $28 million in annual interest payments by pricing its $27 billion bond sale on Tuesday instead of Wednesday. By beating the backup in rates, the U.S. cable giant priced the second-largest bond offering of the year with minimal concessions to help fund its $39 billion acquisition of Sky Plc.
“Whether it was lucky or not, they knew they needed the money and the window was open,” said Matt Brill, a senior portfolio manager at Invesco Ltd. “There’s no doubt that doing this sale on Tuesday versus Wednesday or even Thursday materially saved the company money.”
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U.S. Treasuries have been selling off for the last two days as global investors are expecting stronger economic growth and a faster pace of Federal Reserve rate hikes. That’s pushed the 10-year yield above 3.2 percent for the first time since 2011.
The backup in rates translates to $27.8 million in annual interest payments on Comcast’s fixed-rate bonds, assuming that the spread would not have changed if the deal priced Wednesday instead of Tuesday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Spokesmen for Philadelphia-based Comcast and Bank of America Corp., one of the lead managers on the bond sale, declined to comment. Representatives for Wells Fargo & Co., which was also a lead manager on the sale, did not immediately comment.
From: Bloomberg
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