IBM Sells $3.9 Billion in Bonds

by Jarrett Martineau | October 10, 2008 at 09:25 am

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IBM sold $3.9 billion worth of bonds on Thursday "to cover pending maturities as the company enters the fourth quarter and approaches the new year".

Shares in the technology giant fell $1.55, or 1.7 per cent, to close at $89.

IBM Corp. sold $3.9-billion in bonds on Thursday, a sign that the stalwarts of the corporate world are still finding lenders.

“The markets were open to us at this time, so we decided to enter,” said IBM spokesman Doug Shelton. He added that it was an opportunity to cover pending maturities as the company enters the fourth quarter and approaches the new year.

Late Wednesday, the Armonk, N.Y.-based tech company gave Wall Street an early glimpse into its quarterly results, reporting a better-than-expected profit.

Shares of IBM fell $1.55, or 1.7 per cent, to close at $89 on Thursday. That was a smaller drop than the 7.3 per cent decline in the Dow Jones industrial average, which includes IBM, and the 5.3 per cent decrease in the technology-laden Nasdaq composite index.

Still, analysts have expressed concern that IBM could have problems in the fourth quarter and into 2009 if the lending and spending environment deteriorates, as many expect it will.