UPDATE 1-Philip Morris launches $6 bln debt sale

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NEW YORK, May 13 (Reuters) - Philip Morris International Inc (PM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) on Tuesday launched a $6 billion debt sale, its first since being spun off from Altria Group Inc (MO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) earlier this year.

The sale ties with issuance from General Electric Co's (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) finance unit and Bank of America Corp (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) for the fifth-largest U.S corporate debt sale this year, according to data by Dealogic.

The largest deal this year was a $9 billion sale by GlaxoSmithKline Capital Inc, a unit of pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (GSK.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), earlier this month.

Philip Morris' sale consists of $2 billion in five-year notes, $2.5 billion in 10-year notes and $1.5 billion in 30-year bonds, all expected to yield 1.77 percentage points over U.S. Treasuries, according to International Financing Review, a Thomson Reuters publication.

The company said in a filing it may use proceeds of the sale to meet working capital requirements, repurchase its stock, refinance debt or for general corporate purposes. (Reporting by Karen Brettell and Caryn Trokie; Editing by Dan Grebler)