$49 Billion! That was the total amount of bonds sold by Verizon in the largest corporate debt offer in history. The maturities of the fixed-rate debt covered a span of maturities from three years out to thirty years. The offering also included floating rate debt. The 10-year bonds were sold at a premium of 47 basis points to what investors were looking for on comparable BBB bonds. The deal will help to finance the purchase of the 45% stake in Verizon Wireless from Vodafone.  The 30-year bonds traded as high as 107.6 cents per dollar up from the price at issuance of 99.883. Year-to-date US corporate bond sales have totalled $540 billion, according to Thomson Reuters, which is a 21% increase over last year and nearly matches the $541.5 issued over the same period in 2008.