Apple Inc. AAPL, -0.62% is again planning to issue debt to reward its shareholders by buying back its own shares and paying dividends, according to a regulatory filing. The iPhone maker is planning a four-part deal comprised of 7-year, 10-year, 30-year and 40-year bonds. Goldman Sachs, BofA Securities and JP Morgan are underwriting the deal. The company has not yet disclosed how much it expects to raise in the deal, but said proceeds are earmarked for general corporate purposes, including the shareholder returns, along with working capital, capex, acquisitions and repayment of debt. The company currently has $94.7 billion in long-term debt, after repeatedly tapping bond markets instead of repatriating cash from overseas. Monday’s move comes even as interest rates have started to rise. Moody’s upgraded Apple to AAA in December, assigning it the highest possible rating and one only shared by two other U.S. companies, Johnson & Johnson JNJ, -0.35% and Microsoft Corp. MSFT, -0.97%. Apple shares were flat Monday, but are down 8.5% in the year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.14% has fallen 9%.
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