US media giant Comcast Corp (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has completed one of the biggest bond sales ever to fund its multi-billion dollar acquisition of Britain’s Sky PLC (LON:SKY).
Comcast sold US$27bn of unsecured bonds in 12 parts and was able to cut the cost of its sale as investors put in orders for around US$88bn of the debt.
READ: Clash of the (media) titans: What drove the Fox, Comcast, Disney bidding war over Sky?
It follows a protracted battle for Europe’s largest satellite broadcaster. Comcast won the war last month by outbidding Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOX) in an auction process instigated in September by the UK's takeover panel with a knockout bid of 1,728p per share, valuing the company at US$39bn (£30bn).
Fox, which is in the process of selling itself to Walt Disney Co, sold its 39% stake in Sky to Comcast after the auction, giving Comcast full control of the UK-based firm. Comcast's offer was significantly higher than Fox's bid of 1,567p per share.
The bond sale is the fourth largest in corporate history behind issues from CVS Health Corp, Verizon Communications Inc and Anheuser-Busch InBev NV.
By owning all of Sky, Comcast’s debt is expected to almost double to US$114bn.