Cisco Systems Sells $4 Billion of Debt as Credit Supply Loosens

The $4 billion bond sale will be used to repay $500 million of floating-rate notes maturing this month, the San Jose, California-based company said yesterday. Cisco, the world’s largest maker of networking equipment, said the proceeds will also go toward general corporate purposes.

Chief Executive Officer John Chambers is taking advantage of a more plentiful supply of credit to lower borrowing costs and boost Cisco’s cash. The company is working to eliminate at least $1 billion in expenses by the end of July. Sales may drop as much as 20 percent this quarter, and analysts don’t expect a rebound until 2010.