A day after announcing a strategic refinancing to enhance its liquidity "to a level that would far exceed potential increased liquidity needs, even in the event of a protracted downturn," Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP 1.83%) saw its $1.5 billion senior unsecured note offering oversubscribed by nearly 10 times on Wednesday.
The bottled beverage and packaged coffee manufacturing giant offered aggregate principal notes of $750 million at an interest rate of 3.2% due in 2030, and aggregate notes of $750 million at a 3.8% rate due in 2050. The high-demand transactions are expected to close on April 13.
Image source: Getty Images.
Keurig Dr Pepper intends to use estimated net proceeds of $1.48 billion from the notes sale to pay down $1 billion owed on its short-term credit facility, and to repay its outstanding commercial paper obligations. In essence, the issuance allows the company to transfer $1.5 billion in current obligations to long-term debt, improving its liquidity profile by the same amount.
Last month, Keurig Dr Pepper informed investors that the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. had resulted in increased demand for its products. It also reaffirmed its 2020 outlook, unlike manufacturers across a broad array of industries that have already been forced to withdraw 2020 earnings guidance.
In addition, management stated yesterday that the refinancing would not affect its commitment to continue to pay down debt from the merger of Keurig Green Mountain and Dr Pepper Snapple Group in 2018. Shareholders appear to appreciate the company's relatively solid position during the COVID-19 pandemic: KDP shares jumped 5.3% yesterday on the liquidity announcement, and were trading up another 1% in afternoon trade on Wednesday following the notes' oversubscription.
