CBS Increases Senior Note Offering

NEW YORK: CBS Corp. is reopening its senior note offering to raise another $250 million. The 8.875 percent notes come due in 2019. CBS previously issued $350 million in likewise notes on May 13, for a current total of $600 million. The two issuances, along with the $400 million of 8.2 percent senior notes due 2014 issued by the company May 13, bring CBS’s total senior note offerings for the month to $1 billion.

CBS intends to use the proceeds of the 2019 note offering for “general corporate purposes, including repayment of existing indebtedness.” The joint lead and joint book managers for the offering are Banc of America Securities LLC, Citi, J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. and UBS Securities LLC.

Shares of CBS (NYSE: CBS) dropped slightly in today’s trades from $7.13 at the opening bell to $6.90 by mid-day. The major indices cycled up and down throughout the day. -- Deborah D. McAdams