Walmart
is selling bonds to help finance its acquisition into the country's biggest online seller, stuffing the US investment grade market with another jumbo deal just two days after the second-largest of the year.
Walmart is offering fixed- and floating-rate bonds in as many as nine parts, according to a filing on Wednesday. The longest portion of the offering, a 30-year security, may yield around 1.2 percentage points above
US Treasuries
, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because the details are private.
Walmart, the world's largest retailer, said last month it will acquire a 77% stake in Flipkart for $16 billion, leaving the remainder to Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal and other shareholders. The deal - Walmart's largest ever - gives it greater access to India's fast-growing e-commerce market as the company tries to challenge Amazon.com. Walmart acquired e-tailer Jet.com for about $3.3 billion in 2016. Just a week before Walmart announced its plans for a stake in Flipkart, it agreed to cede control of its British business, Asda, to a competitor for $10 billion. The sale reflects CEO Doug McMillon's strategy to focus on high-potential markets, such as China and India. bloomberg