Medical-device maker Medtronic, Minneapolis, plans to offer $1.25 billion in notes in an effort to raise cash for general corporate purposes and to repay a portion of its short-term debt, according to a news release. Company officials declined to elaborate on the specific use of the funds, but recent news reports have noted that the devicemaker is looking to expand its diabetes business, the company’s fastest-growing division.
The three-part offering will sell $550 million of Medtronic’s 4.5% interest-rate senior notes due in 2014; $400 million of its 5.6% senior notes due in 2019; and $300 million of its 6.5% senior notes due in 2039. The offered notes will be senior, unsecured debt that will rank equally with all of Medtronic’s existing and future senior unsecured debt.
The debt offering comes as Medtronic’s share price on the New York Stock Exchange has fallen from a 52-week high of nearly $57 to an opening price of just under $26 today.
