Investing.com -- Novartis AG is marketing investment-grade US dollar bonds to help finance its $12 billion acquisition of Avidity Biosciences Inc.

A unit of the Swiss drugmaker is offering bonds in eight tranches, with maturities ranging from three to 30 years, according to a company filing. The proceeds will be used to repay a bridge loan from Feb. 26 that was used to finance the acquisition.

The initial price talk on the longest tenor, a bond maturing in 2056, is at about 1.2 percentage points over Treasuries, according to a Bloomberg report Monday.

BNP Paribas SA, Citigroup Inc, Deutsche Bank AG, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Mizuho Financial Group Inc are managing the sale.

Novartis agreed to acquire Avidity in October as part of a push to focus on innovative drugs in core areas including heart, kidney and metabolic drugs, immunology, neuroscience and oncology. The transaction closed last month.