Ford Motor Co., the second-largest U.S. automaker, issued $2billion of bonds in its first sale of fixed-rate debt maturing inat least 30 years since 1999.

The 4.75 percent securities due January 2043 were priced toyield 180 basis points more than similar-maturity Treasuries,according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Proceeds from the salewill be used to refinance debt and to fund its pension plan. Thenotes may be rated Baa3, the lowest level of investment grade, byMoody's Investors Service.

The offering from Ford, which was lifted last year to high gradeat Moody's and Fitch Ratings, comes as auto sales surge and withborrowing costs touching record lows. Ford's U.S. light-vehiclesales rose 1.6 percent in December, the company said today,exceeding the 1.2 percent increase forecast by analysts surveyed byBloomberg.

Ford's $1.8 billion of 7.45 percent bonds due July 2031 tradedat 128.5 cents on the dollar to yield 5.06 percent yesterday,according to Trace, the bond-price reporting system of theFinancial Industry Regulatory Authority.

The automaker issued $4.95 billion of 4.25 percent, 30-yearconvertible securities in December 2006, Bloomberg data show.

Ford was raised to investment grade by Moody's in May and byFitch in April. Standard & Poor's rates the company's debt BB+,or the highest level of speculative grade, with a positive outlook,according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Borrowing costs for high-grade American companies have declinedto 2.8 percent from last year's high of 3.93 percent, according tothe Bank of America Merrill Lynch U.S. Corporate index data.

Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., andMorgan Stanley managed the Dearborn, Michigan-based company's sale,Bloomberg data show. General Motors Co. is the top-sellingautomaker in the U.S.

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