Home  Media Press releases 2004
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| 20 May 2004 | 2004-05-20T00:00:00.0000000+01:00 |
| ASTRAZENECA MAKES GLOBAL BOND MARKET DEBUT
AstraZeneca PLC today announced a successful global bond market debut issuing a total of $750 million. The proceeds of the issue will be used for general corporate purposes | The global bond is rated Aa2 (stable) by Moody’s and AA+ (stable) by Standard & Poor’s credit rating agencies. The transaction is a 10-year benchmark SEC registered global offering and represents AstraZeneca’s first offer in the bond markets.
“This transaction is the first opportunity for bond investors to participate in AstraZeneca’s credit and enables us to enhance our financial flexibility by diversifying our sources of funding,” said Jonathan Symonds, Chief Financial Officer of AstraZeneca.
Formed in 1998 by the merger between Sweden’s Astra and UK’s Zeneca, AstraZeneca is currently listed on the London, New York and Stockholm stock exchanges. It is one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies and employs over 60,000 employees worldwide. Global sales for 2003 were over $18.8 billion.
AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. The company has a portfolio that includes many world leading products and potential treatments in six important pharmaceutical areas of healthcare: gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, oncology, neuroscience, respiratory & inflammation and infection.
AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global and European) as well as the FTSE4Good Index.
The joint bookrunners for the transaction were Citigroup; Goldman, Sachs & Co, and J P Morgan.
Media Enquiries:
Steve Brown, +44 207 304 5033
Edel McCaffrey, +44 207 304 5034
Investor Enquiries:
Mina Blair-Robinson, +44 207 304 5084
Jonathan Hunt, +44 207 304 5087
This press release contains forward-looking statements, in the first and third paragraphs. Such statements may be subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from these statements. We refer you to AstraZeneca’s publicly available filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for information about these and other risks and uncertainties. AstraZeneca assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changed assumptions or other factors. This release does not constitute, or form part of, any offer or invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer, to purchase or subscribe for any ordinary shares in, or securities of, AstraZeneca PLC, nor shall it form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract therefore.
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