CSL’s penchant for three tranche bond deals has continued with its latest offering in the US. In a deal not widely publicised, CSL sold USD$550 million (AUD$720 million) of bonds into the US private placement market in three tranches comprising USD$150 million 10 year bonds, USD$200 million 12 year bonds and $USD200 million 15 year bonds.
Just under one year ago, CSL issued bonds under a three tranches deal; two tranches were denominated in Swiss francs and had tenors of 8 years and 10 years while the one denominated in USD had a 10 year tenor and was priced at Treasurys + 145bps. The only directly comparable tranche of the two sales is the 10 year USD tranche and in this latest deal it was priced at Treasurys + 125bps. It is another example of the narrowing in corporate spreads seen in global markets in the last year as investors go down the risk curve in a search for yield.