‘Fantastic’ bonds kick Roche loan into touch

26 Feb 2009

Roche’s plans for a jumbo loan have been thrown into doubt after the Swiss drugs group issued more than $14bn of bonds in Europe this week, adding to the $16bn trade it made last week in the US. The bonds mean Roche has little need to tap the bank market to fund its $42bn hostile bid for Genentech.

The borrower has said that as well as using cash to fund its $86.50 a share offer, it might also issue CP.

“I have absolutely no idea if there will be a loan anymore,” said a banker from an institution set to be one of the lead banks on ...

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