WorldCom Bond Issue Piques Investor Interest

WorldCom Inc. (WCOM) is finding plenty of buyers for its planned sale today of as much as $12.2 billion of bonds--potentially the largest bond sale ever conducted by a single U.S. corporate issuer.

WorldCom, the No. 2 U.S. long-distance phone company, has drawn more than $21 billion of bids for its bonds, in part by attracting investors with juicy yields of as much as 8.4%. Those yields are higher than yields on similar bonds from No. 1 and No. 3 long-distance rivals AT&T; Corp. (T) and Sprint Corp. (FON).

“They’re getting strong investor interest because of the pricing,” said Derek Brown, vice president at Back Bay Advisors in Boston. “Investors are looking to bonds with high yields for more value.”

Analysts expect Clinton, Miss.-based WorldCom to use sale proceeds to refinance $3.1 billion of debt coming due by November, pay down commercial paper and possibly expand or make acquisitions.

AT&T; holds the record for the largest bond sale by a single U.S. corporate issuer, having sold $8 billion of bonds in March 1999.