Abbott Laboratories is planning to sell $14.7 billion of bonds in the largest dollar-denominated offering in more than three years as the drug and medical-device maker prepares to split in two.

Through its AbbVie Inc. pharmaceutical unit, Abbott may sell bonds in six parts ranging in size from $500 million to $4 billion, according to a person familiar with the transaction.

The offering is the largest dollar-denominated sale since February 2009, when Roche Holding AG issued $16 billion of debt, Bloomberg data show.