Lenovo taps $2bn convertible market to refinance and buy back stock
Lenovo has raised $2bn through seven-year convertible bonds, and the most notable thing about the debt is that it pays nothing. The Beijing-based maker of computers and AI servers sold zero-coupon notes due in 2033, priced at a conversion premium of 47.5% to Wednesday’s closing share price. Investors are lending the company money for free, betting instead on the stock.
That is the logic of a zero-coupon convertible. The buyer forgoes interest in exchange for the right to convert the bonds into shares, and is wagering that Lenovo’s stock will rise far enough by 2033 to make that conversion worth more than the coupon they gave up.
The bonds can be exchanged for 426.9 million shares at an initial conversion price of HK$36.70, about $4.68 a share, the level the stock must clear for the bet to pay off.
Lenovo marketed the deal at a conversion premium of 40% to...
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