The Walt Disney Company has raised $4 billion of new debt, the first time that Disney has gone to the market for new debt since they raked up billions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new debt was issued in four notes, maturing from 2029 to 2036. Here’s the latest.
Disney Raises $4 Billion in New Debt
The new debt was announced in SEC filings earlier this month. There are four notes, ranging in amount from $500 million to $1.5 billion, and maturing from March 2029 to March 2036. Here’s a rundown of the new debt, and what the markets are saying.
NEW DISNEY DEBT
- $500 million note maturing March 14, 2029
- $1 billion note maturing March 14, 2029
- $1.5 billion note maturing March 14, 2031
- $1 billion note maturing March 14, 2036
According to the SEC filings, Disney plans on using the funds for “general corporate purposes”. No further details on the intent for the funds was available.
The Walt Disney Company has a number of projects coming up, including massive investments in its theme park business. Back in September 2023, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that Disney planned on “turbocharging” its theme park business by investing $60 billion into the division through 2033.
Following the initial announcement, Disney announced that only about half of that announced capital would be going to theme parks and resorts. That said, Walt Disney World fans were happy to hear that a full $17 billion would be going to Walt Disney World alone. In addition to the $17 billion, Walt Disney World planned on creating an additional 13,000 jobs through 2033.
As we continue to watch ongoing construction at Walt Disney World, including a Cars-themed expansion in Frontierland, an all-new Villains Land, a Tropical Americas land, a Monsters Inc.-themed land, and more, there is still plenty of money to be spent. In fact, Disney announced that investments in the theme parks will ramp up closer to 2030.
Recently, a rumor has been swirling that Imagineers were asked to amp up the highly-anticipated Villains Land coming to Magic Kingdom. As part of that rumor, Imagineers were reportedly told to consider budget secondary.
Of course, when we’re talking about $60 billion to the theme park division, and $17 billion to Walt Disney World alone, a new round of debt at $4 billion doesn’t buy much. In fact, it may only buy a few new cruise ships. That said, Disney is no stranger to leveraging public debt to not only service old debt that is coming due (as it the case with some of the COVID-era notes), but to also keep operations running smoothly.
In terms of commentary, I’m not nearly well versed enough to speak intelligently on what this round of new debt means outside of the notable nature of it being the first time that Disney has issued investor-grade debt since the COVID-19 pandemic. That said, Wall Street seems to have responded negatively, with the stock down since the February 10th announcement.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!