PayPal Seeks To Raise Further $4B; Fitch Affirms ‘BBB+’ Rating

PayPal Holdings (PYPL) has turned to the corporate bond market to raise $4 billion, a May 11 filing reveals.

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The new debt raise consists of four tranches, each of $1 billion, as follows: 1.35% notes due 2023, 1.65% notes due 2025, 2.3% notes due 2030 and 3.25% notes due 2050.

The offering is expected to close on May 18, 2020, subject to customary closing conditions, says the filing.

Following the new bond issuance, Fitch Ratings affirmed its Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) for PayPal at ‘BBB+’ with a Stable Outlook.

Fitch also assigned a ‘BBB+’ rating to the announced senior notes, which will be senior unsecured securities and pari passu with existing senior notes.

“Proceeds from the notes will be used to repay $3 billion outstanding under its revolver as well as for other general corporate purposes including share repurchases, capex, strategic investments and M&A” says Fitch.

It notes that PayPal has fared particularly well through the coronavirus pandemic to date, with revenue and total payments volume (TPV) growing 5% and 7%, respectively, in March despite the global economic shock, accelerating to 20%-22% in April.

“Fitch believes PayPal’s strong leadership role in digital payments and e-commerce as well as its solid profitability will position it well in the years ahead” the ratings agency explains.

Indeed, the stock also boasts a Strong Buy analyst consensus, with 21 recent buy ratings vs just 4 hold ratings. However with shares up over 30% year-to-date the average analyst price target indicates upside potential of only 1%. (See PayPal’s stock analysis on TipRanks).