BP Capital Markets PLC, the funding arm of U.K.
energy giant BP PLC (BP), is preparing to sell 5- and 10-year bonds
Tuesday in a benchmark offering that people familiar with the sale
say will likely reach $3 billion.
The bonds will likely price
in the low to mid 200 basis points over comparable Treasury
securities, these investors add, noting that the tranches will be
split roughly equally.
Leading the sale are Barclays Capital,
BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Mizuho Securities USA Inc., and Royal Bank of
Scotland. A call to a BP spokesman wasn't immediately returned.
The
bonds will be guaranteed by the parent company and are expected to be
rated A2 by Moody's Investors Service and A by Standard & Poor's.
Proceeds will used for general corporate purposes such as repaying
existing borrowings, according to a company prospectus filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
BP Capital Market's last
U.S. bond was in August 2009, when it sold $2 billion in notes with
coupons of 1.55% for two-year debt and 3.875% for 5.6-year debt,
according to Dealogic data. Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, BNP and
RBS ran that sale.