Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is seeking the services of Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) and Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB) (ETR:DBK) to sell bonds for the first time since its last bond offering in 1996, according to a report from Bloomberg.
In addition to its service in selling Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s bonds, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) also serves as an adviser for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) regarding its billions of dollars of available cash.
According to an individual familiar with the situation who requested that Bloomberg not disclose his identity because the terms of the bond offering has not been set, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) retained the services of Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) and Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB) (ETR:DBK) to schedule phone interviews with fixed-income investors today before a possible transaction.
Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst Brad Hintz commented, “If you’re one of the big technology players, you’re going to want to win this thing — it gives you bragging rights.” According to him, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) is “going to be the logical play” but he believes other firms will also try. Hintz has an outperform rating for the shares of Goldman Sachs.
Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) after its shareholders meeting last year to help the iPhone and iPad maker improve its governance and transparency and how to manage its increasing cash pile.
According to people familiar with the issue, Goldman Sachs advised the board of directors of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) on how to deal with the concerns raised by David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital as well as different options on how to return cash to shareholders.
The iPhone and iPad Maker announced last April 23 that it will release an additional $55 billion cash to shareholders to compensate for the decline of the stock price of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). According to the company, it will use debt to fund the $100 billion total capital reward to shareholders although it has $145 billion available cash.
Bloomberg cited that the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) strategy to borrow money will help the company avoid taxes from bringing its available cash back to the United States from abroad. According to the company, it has more than $102 billion cash and investments overseas as of March 31st.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has seldom hired the services of Wall Street firms since its initial public offering in 1980. The company’s late co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs disliked bankers. He preferred to make deals without the involvement of banks, even if he did marry a former fixed-income strategist Goldman Sachs.
