BRIEF—AstraZeneca to raise $2.25 billion in bond offering

AstraZeneca has launched a global bond offering worth $2.25 billion, for general corporate purposes.

Around half of the bonds will mature in 2028, while the rest will mature in the early to middle part of the next decade.

Since around the end of 2015, AstraZeneca has steadily increased its long-term debt holdings, from $8 billion to over $20 billion.

Shareholder equity increased dramatically towards the end of 2021, bringing the debt to equity ratio down to around 0.7.

The company’s share price has increased by around 125% in the last five years.