(Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is holding meetings with leveraged finance investors to gauge their appetite for debt from Wayfair, the online furniture retailer, according to people with knowledge of the plan.
The process is in its early stages as Wayfair considers ways to address coming maturities on convertible bonds, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing a private matter. The company could raise around $1 billion from a debt sale, though the size and other details are subject to change, one of the people added.
Wayfair has approximately $870 million of convertible debt due by the end of 2025, according to Bloomberg data. Based on where the company’s stock is currently trading, at around $43 a share, a conversion to equity is unlikely unless that price reaches about $116 for the 2024 bonds and $417 for the 2025 bonds.
A representative of Goldman Sachs declined to comment, while Wayfair didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Wayfair, a 22-year-old company that went public in 2014, would be a first-time issuer in the high-yield bond and leveraged loan markets. Bankers have brought a deluge of deals so far this month, especially in the loan arena, to take advantage of strong investor demand and relative market stability before the US election.
Kate Gulliver, Wayfair’s chief financial officer, said on its second-quarter earnings call that the company is eyeing alternative venues of financing beyond the convertible market. The company reported second-quarter revenue and profit that trailed the average analyst estimates, saying that macroeconomic headwinds continue to weigh on consumers.
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