JPMorgan considers offering lenders steep discounts to take on software debt

A bank consortium led by JPMorgan Chase & Co. may sell a portion of Qualtrics International Inc.'s $5 billion debt at a discount. According to people familiar with the matter, the debt may carry a coupon of at least 8% and be offered at a discount to about 85 cents on the dollar. The sale of Qualtrics' debt could be launched as soon as next week and priced before the Thanksgiving holiday. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, if the deal is completed at that price, it would constitute one of the largest discounts among new U.S. high-yield bond issues this year. In recent months, as market concerns about AI disrupting software companies' businesses have intensified, several software companies have had to pay high borrowing costs and strengthen covenant protections in order to secure lenders.