IBM Sells $20 Billion of Bonds as Market Defies Trade Drag

  • Jumbo offering comes day after $19 billion Bristol-Myers sale
  • IBM’s $33 billion Red Hat purchase got DOJ nod on Friday
IBM Bond Sale Kicks Off Buying Frenzy Amid Turbulent Markets
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International Business Machines Corp. sold $20 billionBloomberg Terminal of bonds, propelling the corporate-debt market to its busiest week in at least eight months despite turbulence across asset classes worldwide.

The senior unsecured bonds will help fund the computer-services giant’s acquisition of Red Hat Inc. The longest portion of the offering, a 30-year security, will yieldBloomberg Terminal 1.45 percentage points more than Treasuries, after initial talk of around 1.55 percentage points, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified as the details are private.