Merck & Co. sold $6 billion of investment-grade bonds Tuesday to help fund its acquisition of fellow drugmaker Verona Pharma Plc, as more than two dozen firms kick off a seasonally busy period for US corporate debt markets.
Merck offered its sale in six parts, including a 30-year bond, according to a person familiar with the matter. That security yields 0.75 percentage point above similarly dated Treasuries, compared to initial price discussions that called for a yield around 1 percentage point above the benchmark, the person said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter.
Investors have been ...
