Keysight Technologies offers half-billion in notes to repay debt due in October

Santa Rosa-based Keysight Technologies (NYSE: KEYS) on Monday announced a proposed public offering of $500 million worth of senior unsecured notes.

Keysight, which manufactures electronic test and measurement equipment and software, intends to use the net proceeds to repay an outstanding $500 million in 3.30% senior notes due Oct. 30, according to the news release.

The notes will not be guaranteed by any of the company's subsidiaries, the announcement said.

In a U.S. Securities and Exchange commission filing, the company said the notes will rank equally in right of payment with all of Keysight's existing and future unsecured unsubordinated indebtedness, liabilities and other obligations.

The filing also said the company had approximately $1.8 billion of indebtedness outstanding on a consolidated basis as of July 31. That includes the notes due this month as well as $600 million in 4.55% senior unsecured notes due 2024 and a March 2017 offering of $700 million worth of promissory notes at 4.6% interest, due 2027.

The 2017 offering is the second part of Keysight's financing of its acquisition of Ixia, a California technology company, in a deal valued at $1.6 billion.

The Monday release said BofA Securities Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities LLC are the joint lead book-running managers for the offering. Barclays Capital Inc., BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. are also book-running managers for the offering.