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Apple reaps $7 billion after finalizing latest bond sale

Apple has completed an anticipated five-part bond sale, raising $7 billion in debt with the help of banks including Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan, and Deutsche Bank.

The first part, $350 million, will mature in 2019 with a floating interest rate linked to a three-month LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) plus 14 basis points, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The second, worth $1.15 billion, will mature the same year with a fixed 1.1 interest rate.

A $1.25 billion round matures in 2021 with 1.55 percent interest, while the biggest part — $2.25 billion — is set to mature in 2026 with 2.45 percent interest. The final $2 billion will only mature in 2046, but with 3.85 percent interest.

Apple has used a number of bond sales to help finance its capital return program for investors, increasing the appeal of shares through dividends and buybacks. The company could theoretically fuel the program through its cash reserves — now totaling over $231.5 billion — but most of that money is overseas, and the company has refused to repatriate it unless the U.S. government concedes to a "tax holiday" that will shrink the amount it owes.

Apple is ultimately expecting to reach $250 billion in the capital return program by March 2018, having already paid out over $163 billion.