Microsoft to price; Crown Castle brings $500 million; Anheuser-Busch, Bank of America tighten

By Devika Patel

Knoxville, Tenn., Jan. 30 – In Monday’s investment-grade primary market, Redmond, Wash., computer software giant Microsoft Corp. announced a planned sale of fixed-rate notes in seven parts, and Houston-based wireless infrastructure provider Crown Castle International Corp. priced a $500 million offering of 4% 10-year senior notes (Baa3/BBB-/ BBB-).

In the secondary market, Alphabet Inc.’s 1.998% senior notes due 2026 loosened to a spread of 58 basis points from 56 bps.

Alphabet sold $2 billion of the notes on Aug. 9 at 68 bps over Treasuries.

Also, Anheuser-Busch InBev Finance Inc. saw the spread of its 3.65% notes due 2026 tighten to 110 bps from 111 bps.

The company sold $11 billion of the notes on Jan. 25, 2016 at Treasuries plus 160 bps as part of a $46 billion multi-tranche deal.

Bank of America Corp.’s 5% senior notes due 2044 tightened their spread to 137 bps from 142 bps.

The company sold $2 billion of the notes on Jan. 21, 2014 at Treasuries plus 120 bps.

Ford Motor Credit Co. LLC’s 4.134% notes due 2025 tightened their spread to 167 bps from 169 bps.

Ford Motor sold $700 million of the notes on Nov. 9, 2015 at a spread of Treasuries plus 173 bps.

And Time Warner Inc.’s 3.6% notes due 2025 loosened to a spread of 143 bps from 139 bps.

Time Warner sold $1.5 billion of the notes at a spread of Treasuries plus 150 bps on July 4, 2015.

Microsoft ahead

All seven tranches of the Microsoft notes will have a make-whole call and then a par call.

Barclays, HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., BofA Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Goldman Sachs & Co., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, U.S. Bancorp Investments Inc., BNP Paribas Securities Corp. and BNY Mellon Capital Markets LLC are the bookrunners.

Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

Crown Castle prices

The Crown Castle notes priced at 99.578 to yield 4.051%, or 157 bps over Treasuries.

These notes have a make-whole call until Dec. 1, 2026 and then a par call.

Barclays, JPMorgan, Mizuho Securities USA Inc., RBC Capital Markets Corp., TD Securities (USA) LLC, Citigroup, Fifth Third Securities Inc., Credit Agricole Securities (USA) Inc., BofA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, MUFG, SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Inc. are the bookrunners.

Proceeds will be used to repay debt under the company’s revolver.

Houston-based Crown Castle provides shared wireless infrastructure to wireless carriers.

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