Twitter said
it raised $1.8 billion in the convertible bond offering it announced
earlier in the week, up from the $1.3 billion it planned to raise as the
deal met with robust demand. The five-year tranche of the offering,
with notes due in 2019, carried a 0.25% interest rate, while the
seven-year 2021 notes bear 1% interest, payable semi-annually in March
and September.
The conversion rate, 12.8793 shares per $1,000 in principal, is equal
to about $77.64 per share, according to Twitter’s filing. That is
almost 48% above the stock’s $52.57 level Friday morning.
Out of the total proceeds from the offering, Twitter will use $112.3
million to pay the cost of hedges intended to offset any dilution from
eventual conversion of the notes.
Shares of Twitter, which went public in November 2013 at $26.00 per share, closed Wednesday’s session at $52.91, double its IPO price and its highest close since March, but still almost 30% below its peak of $74.73: