As it looks to finance share buybacks and investments to restructure its company, Meta Platforms, a subsidiary of Facebook, announced yesterday that it has raised $10 billion in its first-ever bond issue.
According to a Reuters story, the selling would assist Meta, the sole technological behemoth without debt, in building a more conventional balance sheet and funding some pricey ventures, such its virtual reality platform, the metaverse.
Apple and Intel Corp., two additional IT behemoths, recently sold bonds as well, raising $5.5 billion and $6 billion, respectively.
Fears of a recession and pressure from the competition were weighing on Meta sales of digital ads when it released a dour forecast and reported its first-ever quarterly revenue decline last month.
And now, as the corporation seeks to finance share buybacks and investments, Meta’s first-ever corporate bond issue, which has raised $10 billion, hopes to assist in helping to restructure the business.
For those who are unaware, corporate bonds are a type of debt financing that, in addition to equity, bank loans, and lines of credit, serve as a significant source of cash for many organisations. Investors who purchase corporate bonds, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States, are making a loan to the corporation issuing the bond. In exchange, the business (in this case, Meta) agrees in writing to refund the principal and, in most situations, to pay interest on the principal when the bond matures.
Other developments included the announcement by Meta of new WhatsApp privacy features. Users of WhatsApp will have the ability to secretly exit group chats, manage who may view their online status, and even prevent screenshots on View Once messages. According to a number of media sources, WhatsApp will start implementing the features this month and will launch a global marketing push to emphasise them in the UK and India.
