Bank of America Co-Leads $50 B Paramount Debt Package with $30 B High-Grade Bonds
Bank of America is co-managing a $50 billion debt package for Paramount Skydance’s Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition, consisting of roughly $30 billion in investment-grade bonds, $12 billion in high-yield bonds and $7.5 billion in loans. The 10-year investment-grade tranche is being pitched at 2.5–2.75 percentage points over benchmarks with US loans priced at 3 points above par.
1. Paramount Skydance’s $50 B Debt Financing
Bank of America and Citigroup are spearheading a roughly $50 billion financing to support Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The package is structured with about $30 billion in investment-grade bonds issued across three- and ten-year tranches, approximately $12 billion in high-yield bonds split between US dollars and euros, and $7.5 billion in US dollar and euro-denominated loans priced near 99 cents on the dollar and carrying a spread of around 3 points over benchmarks.
2. Implications for Bank of America
As co-manager on the high-grade bond issuance and lead manager on the junk bond tranche, Bank of America stands to earn substantial underwriting fees and bolster its fee-based revenue streams. The deal also helps the bank reduce balance-sheet exposure created by its initial funding of the $110 billion acquisition, diversifying risk across a larger syndicate of investors.