Apple has officially hit the bond market in Europe.
As was rumored yesterday, this morning the iPhone maker issued 2.5 billion euros in debt, the first time the company has offered bonds in a currency other than U.S. dollars. The Wall Street Journal reported the debt offering Tuesday morning.
A source close to the deal told Bloomberg that the half of the bonds are eight year notes, and the other half are for 12 years. Goldman Sachs (GS) and Deutsche Bank (DB) ran the sale.
This is Apple’s (AAPL) third bond sale in the past few years, with $12 billion raised in April of this year, and a $17 billion raised in 2013.
The Journal said the proceeds from the bond sales — which offer relatively low yield but are considered to be safe investments give Apple’s stability as a company — will be used to pay dividends and complete share buybacks.