Kraft tapped the bond market for $9.5 billion to finance its purchase of the U.K. candy maker Cadbury. The U.S. food company offered investors four types of bonds, with maturities ranging from 3.25 years to 30 years. The bonds are investment-grade, but their ratings are only 1 to 2 notches above speculative, or junk, territory.
 
Underwriters relaunched the offering Thursday afternoon to offer investors a more generous yield after the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 200 points. The $3 billion of 30-year notes, for example, sold with a risk premium of 205 basis points over Treasuries, up from the original 200 basis points, according to IFR.
 
Customer orders were said to be in the order of $23 billion early Feb. 4, according to IFR, though some buyers pulled their orders when stocks headed south.
 
The bond sale came amid weaker stock and corporate bond markets. Risk premiums on the Markit investment-grade CDX, a derivative index used as a proxy for the higher-rated bonds, have risen to 99.75, according to CMA Datavision. This is up from a 76 low on Jan. 11, according to Markit. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, closed at 10,002, compared to its 2010 high of 10,725.
 
Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway holds a 9.4 percent stake in Kraft, repeatedly criticized the deal and said he would vote against the purchase if he could.