Ford's Credit Arm Sells $1 Billion of Bonds

Ford Motor Credit Co., the finance unit of the second-largest U.S. automaker, sold $1 billion of bonds as the pace of car sales quickens.

Ford Motor Credit issued an additional $300 million of its 3.875 percent notes due in January 2015 and $700 million of its 5 percent debt maturing in May 2018, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Dearborn, Michigan-based company initially issued $1.25 billion of each maturity in separate sales last year.

U.S. sales of parent Ford Motor Co.’s namesake brand exceeded 2 million in 2011 for the first year since 2007 amid signs that growth in the world’s largest economy is gaining momentum. Standard & Poor’s lifted Ford Motor Co. and Ford Motor Credit’s debt grade on Oct. 21 to BB+, one step below investment grade, and Moody’s Investors Service raised its rating to an equivalent Ba1 on Oct. 27.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., BNP Paribas SA, Deutsche Bank AG and Morgan Stanley managed the sale, according to a person with knowledge of the transaction who asked not to be identified.

The 3.875 percent notes traded at 100.1 cents on the dollar at 8:01 a.m. in New York to yield 3.85 percent, according to Trace, the bond price reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The 5 percent securities traded at 100.4 cents to yield 4.93 percent, Trace data show.