NEW YORK-Because of strong demand for its debt, AT&T Corp. increased to a record-setting
$8 billion the size of its global bond offering before selling the issue March 23.
The transaction broke the record set
last August by the $6.1 billion debt offering of MCI WorldCom.
AT&T will use proceeds to help repay commercial
paper sold in connection with its recently completed $60 billion acquisition of cable television company Tele-
Communications Inc. and to finance its $4 billion stock share repurchase program.
“Closed and pending
acquisitions undertaken over the last 18 months have continued to strengthen AT&T’s leadership position as a global
provider of services to businesses and individuals,” said Fitch IBCA Inc., a New York-based debt rating agency,
which gave an AA- investment grade rating to AT&T’s new bonds.
“(We) will continue to monitor the full
impact of the (TCI) merger and (AT&T’s) business plan for the integration of Teleport Communications, Vanguard
Cellular, TCI and IBM (Corp.’s) global network business.”
