Harvard launches $1.5 bln bond offer-IFR

NEW YORK Dec 5 (Reuters) - Harvard College on Friday launched a $1.5 billion three-part taxable bond offer with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan acting as lead managers, according to IFR.

The Triple-A-rated university is planning to sell $500 million in 5-year, 10-year and 30-year notes, with all maturities expected to price at a yield spread of 337.5 basis points over comparable Treasuries, said IFR, a Thomson Reuters service.

The proceeds of the sale will be used to refinance taxable commercial paper and for other corporate purposes.

The bond sale comes just two days after the world's richest university announced that its endowment has lost 22 percent, or about $8 billion, in the last four months.

That has placed it on track for its worst annual returns in 40 years. See [ID:nN03529653].

(Reporting by Ciara Linnane; Editing by Jan Paschal)