BRIEF—$30 billion sale of bonds by AbbVie to fund Allergan takeover

Encouraged by low funding costs amid narrowing credit risk premiums, US drugmaker AbbVie has  sold the largest block of bonds of the year to finance its $63 billion acquisition of rival Allergan, best known as the maker of Botox.

According to the Financial Times, $30 billion was raised from investors clamoring for investment-grade debt, in a bond offering split across 10 different maturities from 18 months to 30 years.

The deal was the biggest bond offering since CVS raised $40 billion in March last year to fund its takeover of Aetna and ranked as the fourth-largest bond sale ever completed.