DISNEY BONDS SALE WILL TOP ORIGINAL PLAN.Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer BURBANK - The Walt Disney Noun 1. Walt Disney - United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966) Disney, Walter Elias Disney Co., which continues to suffer from weak television advertising sales and a decline in attendance at its theme parks, plans to raise $1.75 billion from a sale of global bonds expected to be completed today. The sale, being arranged by J.P. Morgan and Salomon Smith Barney Smith Barney is a division of Citigroup Global Capital Markets Inc., a global, full-service financial firm, that provides brokerage, investment banking and asset management services to corporations, governments and individuals around the world. , is for $400 million more than originally planned. The sale by Disney comes five months after the conglomerate sold $1 billion of debt to Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., or simply Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) is one of the world's largest global investment banks. Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869, and is headquartered in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City at 85 Broad Street. Group Inc. in part to help it buy back some of its stock. That transaction took place Sept. 17, just six days after the terrorist attacks on the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , and was seen as a sign of long-term confidence in Disney, which had suffered short term because of the attacks. ``The company still has very substantial longer-term franchise value,'' Glenn Eckert, senior media analyst at Moody's Investors Service Moody's Investors Service A leading global credit rating, research and risk analysis firm. Moody's Investors Service A leading firm engaged in credit rating, risk analysis, and research of fixed-income securities and their issuers. , told Reuters on Thursday. Moody's remains concerned about the heavy debt load Disney took on when it purchased Fox Family Worldwide Inc. last fall for $5.3 billion. David Joyce, an analyst with Guzman & Co. in Miami, said Disney's sale of the global bonds is directly connected to the Fox Family transaction. ``They had essentially told investors that they were going to do the long-term financing Long-term financing Liabilities repayable in more than one year plus equity. to pay down the short-term commercial paper financing they commissioned to help finance the Fox Family acquisition,'' Joyce said. ``There's not going to be any real net increase in debt.'' |
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