I think we are in complete agreement.
In
this post I was myself trying to understand what was in it for the bond buyers. I then realized that, for an entity investing in the $1b range, the risk profile would be vastly different from an individual investor's, so the notes might make sense. First, an institutional investor would like the $360 floor. Yes, the premium is huge, but this investor, while assuming he is very bullish, still wants to tread carefully. Second, and this is especially important, buying the notes directly contributes to the company's future growth by funding the GF, thus further minimizing the risk, whereas the same investment made on the open market would not help the company.
In contrast, as an individual, my money wouldn't put a dent in the company's prospects. Moreover, I am able to tolerate much higher risk. Like you, I wouldn't buy the notes either (in fact, my portfolio is aggressively invested LEAPS.)
