Apple to Sell First Canadian-Dollar Bond Worth $2.5 Billion

According to regulatory filing on Tuesday, Apple plans to offer its first ever Canadian-dollar debt offering, through the sale of seven-year bonds, reports Bloomberg.

Apple says proceeds from the sale will help fund stock buybacks, dividends to shareholders and also capital expenditures. This would mark the company’s sixth bond market sale this year, after three previous sales in the U.S. worth $18 billion, $1 billion in Taiwan and also euro-denominated notes back in May.

Bloomberg says the $2.5 billion sale of seven-year bonds is the largest single-tranche debut offering by a foreign issuer in Canadian currency.

Just how do bonds work? According to CNN Money:

When you buy a bond, you are loaning your money for a certain period of time to the issuer.In exchange, the borrower promises to pay you interest every year and to return your principal at “maturity,” when the loan comes due, or at “call” if the bond is of the type that can be called earlier than its maturity. The length of time to maturity is called the “term.”

The filing says HSBC Holdings, RBC, BMO and Goldman Sachs Group are managing the bond sale.

Apple’s recent Q3 earnings release noted the company now has a record $261.5 billion USD in cash, up 13% year over year, with 94% ($246 billion USD) held outside the United States.