Nike has raised $1 billion through two bond offerings, stating that it may use them to pay for capital expenditures, share buybacks or acquisitions. One $500-million bond issue carries annual interest of 2.25 percent and a ten-year maturity, while the other pays 3.625 percent interest over a 30-year time span. The good rates were negotiated on the basis of the A1 debt rating given to the Swoosh by Moody's and the A+ conferred by Standard & Poor's. The two bond issues are the first debt offering concluded by Nike in nearly a decade. They come on top of some $4 billion in cash and marketable securities declared by the company most recently, partly due to the sale of Umbro International and Cole Haan.

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