Beverly Hills-based Live Nation plans to sell $500 million worth of secured senior notes in a private offering. The notes will have an annual interest rate of 3.75% and be due for repayment in 2028.
 
The offering is Live Nation’s latest bid to shore up working capital amid a pandemic that has devastated the company’s core live events business. Revenues were down 95% year-over-year in the company’s third-quarter earnings this year — a trend which has largely persisted since mid-March. 

Live Nation reported available liquidity of approximately $1.9 billion as of Sept. 30. At the time, it said that amount could sustain its operations until the “expected return of concerts at scale” next summer.
 
Like many entertainment businesses, Live Nation has turned to debt to prop up operations this year. The company most recently sold $1.2 billion in secured senior notes in May. Those notes carried a 6.5% annual interest rate and are due for repayment by 2027.
 
The latest $500 million private debt offering will be used to pay off an existing $75 million loan facility, to pay fees and expenses related to the offering and for general corporate purposes, according to Live Nation. 

The company noted in a statement that it may also use the funds for “acquisitions and organic investment opportunities,” but provided no detail on how it would manage such investments given its difficult financial position.
 
Together with Live Nation’s existing leverage, the $500 million in new notes will leave the company with approximately $5.35 billion in long-term debt.