The Kroger Co. struggled to sell $850 million in a two-part debt deal Tuesday, Dow Jones Newswires reports.
Cincinnati, Ohio-based Kroger sold $500 million of 10-year bonds and $350 million of 30-year bonds. The company had aimed to sell between $800 million and $1 billion, hoping for a yield of 5 percent on the 30-year maturity, according to a banker—as the Business Journal reports. The actual yields were 3.48 percent on the 10-year bonds and 5.02 percent on the 30-year bonds.
The Kroger bonds were rated “Baa2” by Moody’s Investor Service and “BBB” by Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings—which is investment grade.
Proceeds from the sale are to refinance debt, including 6.75 percent and 6.2 percent notes due this month as well as for general corporate purposes, the Journal says.