Verizon Unit Raises $1.5 Billion in Bond Sale

A unit of Verizon Communications Inc. raised $1.5 billion from a sale of bonds in a bid to satisfy credit rating agencies that want it to cut back on short-term debt. Verizon New York will use the proceeds of the 10-year notes and 30-year bonds to pay down shorter-term corporate debt.

The sale by Verizon New York came three days after Moody’s Investors Service said New York-based Verizon faces “refunding risk” because its credit lines back up only two-thirds of its $12.8 billion in short-term debt known as commercial paper.

On the same day, Standard & Poor’s revised its outlook for the No. 1 U.S. local telephone company to “negative” from “stable,” saying Verizon could restore the “stable” outlook if it cut its debt load and improved cash flow.