Apple issues first Australian bond, raises more than AU$1.2B

As anticipated, Apple on Thursday local Australia time issued an Australian dollar-denominated bond that according to one report has already reached AU$1.2 billion, or about $883 million.

Apple's first Australian issuance came in the form of a two-part "benchmark" bond sale consisting of four- and seven-year notes, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.

The publication notes price guidance of the fixed and floating rate four-year bonds is pegged at around 3 percent, while the seven-year bonds are being offered at 3.80 percent, or 0.7 percent and 1.15 percent over bank rates, respectively. Apple's Australian bond is managed by Goldman Sachs, Commonwealth Bank and Deutsche Bank.

Reports earlier this week suggested Apple's debt offering would be land somewhere between AU$500 million and AU$1 billion.

Prior to today's bond sale, Apple notably sold debt in U.S. dollars and Euros, but has more recently taken an interest in low rate areas in Asia and Europe. For example, the company raised about $1 billion in a Swiss franc-denominated offering in February, $2 billion in yen-denominated bonds in June and another $2 billion in British pounds last month.

Apple is thought to be leveraging international debt to fund its domestic capital return program. The company is slated pass $200 billion back to shareholders by the end of March 2017, but is reluctant to repatriate overseas cash due to high U.S. tax rates. Of its $220 billion cash hoard, more than $190 billion is held by offshore subsidiaries.