Boeing Co. is selling bonds for the third time since April, looking to refinance an over-levered balance sheet that swelled to keep money flowing in the pandemic.

The planemaker is borrowing to repay a US$13.8 billion loan it drew down at the onset of the coronavirus outbreak, part of a borrowing spree that took its debt balance up to US$63.6 billion by year end. It’s been able to call on bond investors time and time again, riding its way through one of the worst years in its century-long history amid a halt in global travel and the grounding of its best-selling plane.

Boeing is offering bonds in as many as four parts, according to a filing Tuesday. The longest portion of the offering, a five-year security that is noncallable for two years, may yield around 195 basis points over Treasuries, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified as the details are private.

The company will use the funds to repay outstanding borrowings under its US$13.8 billion delayed draw two-year term loan credit facility, which it raised early last year amid the 737 Max crisis. The company drew on the full amount in March amid the start of the pandemic as travel shut down, calling into question whether airlines would keep paying for new planes.

The new debt offers additional protection to investors through what’s known as coupon steps, in which the interest rate increases by 25 basis points for each downgrade below investment grade. Boeing is rated one notch above junk at S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings, while Moody’s Investors Service has it one level higher.

 “We believe we currently have sufficient liquidity and are not planning to increase our debt levels,” Chief Financial Officer Gregory Smith said on an earnings call last week. “However, we will continue to actively manage our balance sheet, including refinancing debt maturities.”

Boeing declined to provide a 2021 earnings forecast when it reported fourth-quarter results. It burned US$19.7 billion in 2020 and doesn’t expect to be cash-flow positive until next year.

Manufacturing flaws have hobbled deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner, and Boeing last week delayed the debut of its newest model, the behemoth 777X, to late 2023. That leaves the company dependent on deliveries of the 737 Max, its workhorse single-aisle jet, which was recently approved to fly again in much of the world after a long grounding that began in March 2019 following two deadly crashes.

Boeing last sold bonds in late October, raising US$4.9 billion to help repay debt. It borrowed US$25 billion in April, the largest bond sale of 2020, which it said at the time ruled out the need for further federal aid.

Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. are managing the offering, the person said.

--With assistance from Paula Seligson, Allan Lopez and Julie Johnsson.