Microsoft is ready to launch itself into the capital market, with a 7 billion dollar bond, thus joining other large companies that have recently resorted to this instrument: recently the pharmaceutical group Merck, which issued bonds for 8 billion , and then Apple which recently put debt securities on the market for 6,5 billion and is considering a bond in Swiss francs.
Standard & Poor's just awarded a “AAA” rating on the bonds of the Redmond IT giant, which intends to use the proceeds for corporate purposes including share buybacks and debt refinancing. The rating agency leaves the rating on Microsof unchanged at "AAA" with a stable outlook given the "minimum" financial risk profile. Even Moody's gave a triple A to the new Microsoft bond. The idea is that Microsoft, states the Moody's report, is the world's leading software group with a very strong market share in core products that generate 80% of revenues. The rating is also given by the conservative financial philosophy of Microsoft's management. “Maintaining strong liquidity ($90 billion in cash and liquid investments as of last December) and low financial leverage give the group the financial flexibility to invest decisively and consistently in order to defend and grow its position in the core business and respond to competitive challenges”.
