Boeing Launches $19 Billion Share Sale to Thwart Downgrade (1)

Boeing Co. launched a nearly $19 billion share sale, one of the largest ever by a public company, to address the troubled planemaker’s liquidity needs and stave off a potential credit rating downgrade to junk.

The company offered to sell 90 million common shares and about $5 billion of depositary shares, according to a statement Monday, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report.

The common-share portion alone would total just under $14 billion, based on Friday’s closing price of $155.01. That would be the largest share sale since SoftBank Group Corp. sold part of its stake in T-Mobile US Inc. ...