Saturday Nov 15 2025 00:00
2 min
Berkshire Hathaway issued 210.1 billion yen (approximately $1.4 billion USD) in yen-denominated bonds on Friday. The issuance comes as global investors flock to Japan, resulting in lower borrowing costs compared to the previous deal.
The offering includes four tranches of senior, unsecured notes registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with maturities ranging from 3 to 15 years. The issuance raised a total exceeding the 90 billion yen raised in April. That prior deal, the smallest yen bond issuance since investment veteran Warren Buffett first entered the market in 2019, was due to heightened uncertainty stemming from US trade tensions at the time.
The largest tranche in this issuance, the three-year notes, were priced at a premium of 48 basis points over yen mid-swap contracts based on TONA (Tokyo Overnight Average Rate), lower than the 70 basis points in the previous issuance. Furthermore, the U.S. company's five-year notes were also priced at a lower premium than the previous issuance, at around 64 basis points.
The narrowing spreads highlight the improved market sentiment since April. At that time, U.S. tariff threats exacerbated market volatility and caused several Japanese companies to cancel or postpone domestic bond issuances due to concerns about rising borrowing costs. During that period, trade policy uncertainty kept investors on edge.
The Omaha, Nebraska-based company has been a regular issuer of yen bonds since its debut six years ago, and has become the largest overseas issuer of yen bonds during that time. This latest transaction has also sparked speculation that the company may increase its investments in Japanese stocks.
The American investment giant holds stakes in five major Japanese trading houses, including Mitsubishi Corp. and Itochu Corp. Berkshire's yen funding moves are closely watched by investors, with market speculation that the funds raised may be used to increase its stakes in these companies.
Buffett has repeatedly expressed his growing appreciation for these trading houses in past letters to shareholders.
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