Netflix to raise $2bn in debt as it prepares to compete with Disney, Apple

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Netflix is to raise $2bn in debt as it looks to invest in more original content. 

This latest offering is the eighth time in five years where the streaming giant has raised $1bn or more in debt. The business has said the funds will go towards content acquisition, production and development, as well as “capital expenditures, investments, working capital and potential acquisitions and strategic transactions”.

According to its latest earnings report, as of 30 September, Netflix had a debt load of $12.43bn, up from the previous nine months, when it reported $10.4bn as of 31 December 2018.

In April, Netflix raised $2.2bn in junk bonds.

The latest debt offering come as the streaming giant works out of a whopping $15bn content budget for this year. The business must further bulk up its originals slate as it prepares to face off against the likes of Disney+ and HBO Max, both of which have been on commissioning sprees as of late as they bolster their own slates.

Last week, Netflix reported in its Q3 results that it had added 6.8m subscribers across the quarter – a 12% year-on-year increase – but still missed its forecasted 7m adds.

The streaming giant reported 500,000 net adds out of the US, down from the 800,000 forecast. Net adds for the first nine months of 2018 are 2.1m versus 4.1m for the same period in 2018 – a dramatic contrast due in large part to Netflix’s price hike earlier this year.