United is said to ready $5b debt sale for next week

A group of banks led by Goldman Sachs may launch a $5b debt offering for United as soon as Monday, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Goldman Sachs has started discussions with investors to gauge their level of interest, said the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. Early unofficial pricing discussions for a bond that could have a maturity of seven or eight years are for a yield of about 7%, the people said. United is tapping its frequent-flyer programme for the deal, the company’s biggest debt sale since the pandemic. The offering may also include leveraged loans and the debt could have one investment-grade rating. Talks on the terms of the offering are preliminary and could change, the people said. Goldman, Barclays and Morgan Stanley committed to provide the financing to United in exchange for a claim on MileagePlus, the loyalty programme the airline established in 1981, according to a company presentation. Since the banks have underwritten the debt, they will be eager to begin marketing and offload it to investors soon, according to the people.<br/>