The company sold bonds maturing in 10 years for general corporate purposes. — Bloomberg
NEW YORK: Hasbro Inc sold a US$500mil bond on Wednesday, raising debt for the first time in nearly five years and joining a wave of blue-chip companies storming the US investment-grade market in the busiest week of the year.
The maker of games such as Monopoly and Dungeons & Dragons sold bonds maturing in 10 years for general corporate purposes, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
The notes yield 1.6 percentage points above US Treasuries, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the details are private, after earlier discussions for around 1.8 percentage points.
CreditSights analysts led by James Dunn maintained an “underperform” recommendation on Hasbro bonds in a Wednesday report, writing “we remain hesitant to add exposure to HAS given currently elevated leverage metrics and the name and likely ratings downgrades amid a difficult operating environment for toys and entertainment issuers.”
Hasbro didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The offering comes two weeks after the Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based company reported first-quarter earnings that beat estimates, a promising sign for the company’s turnaround efforts.
Hasbro announced plans to slash about 20% of its staff in late 2023, blaming slumping sales of toys and games during the crucial holiday season.
The company last tapped the high-grade market in November 2019, raising US$2.4bil to help fund a portion of its US$4bil acquisition of Entertainment One Ltd (EOne).
Hasbro has been selling EOne divisions it doesn’t consider central to its strategy. Lions Gate Entertainment Corp agreed to buy the EOne film and TV studio for US$375mil in cash plus the assumption of loans in August. In 2021, the toymaker sold EOne’s music business to Blackstone Inc for US$385mil.
Hasbro was among 14 issuers marketing bonds in the high-grade market on Wednesday, matching the amount from both Monday and Tuesday, as a surge across debt markets continues.
The 42 investment-grade deals so far this week have surpassed the 39 that priced during the first week of the year – typically one of the busiest on the calendar – when almost US$57bil priced.
Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of Nova Scotia managed the bond sale, said the person. — Bloomberg
