Kimberly-Clark Corp. is holding investor calls on Friday ahead of a possible bond sale, as the closing of its pending acquisition of Tylenol maker Kenvue Inc. nears. The calls are being coordinated by JPMorgan Chase & Co., according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because the details are private.
The potential five-tranche deal may include bonds maturing in two to 10 years, the person added. JPMorgan Chase & Co. provided $7.7 billion in bridge financing to help fund Kimberly-Clark's planned cash-and-stock purchase of Kenvue, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Bridge funds are often replaced with proceeds from bond sales.
The takeover is currently worth about $36 billion, including $6.7 billion of cash that would in part come from new debt sales. A bond sale by Kimberly-Clark would enter what's been a turbulent market in recent days. Numerous companies have held off on bringing high-grade bond sales as Treasury yields swung sharply on stronger-than-expected inflation data and worries about the artificial-intelligence trade.
Kimberly-Clark's third-quarter report is due on Nov. 5. Firms typically don't issue bonds in the roughly two-week period before disclosing results. At the time of the deal's unveiling last November, the Kleenex owner said the combination would create a company with $32 billion in revenue and allow it to surpass Unilever Plc to become the second-biggest seller of health and wellness products after Procter & Gamble Co. Kenvue's portfolio also includes Neutrogena lotion, Listerine mouthwash, Benadryl allergy medicine and Band-Aid wound care products.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing