Ford Motor Credit Co., the finance arm of Ford Motor Co., plans to launch a benchmark three and a half year euro-denominated bond, subject to market conditions, the lead managers said, according to a Reuters report.

ABN AMRO, Barclays Capital and Credit Suisse First Boston have been mandated to lead the deal, Reuters said.

A banking source said the deal would be for around one billion euros, and was being planned for launch this week, according to Reuters.

FMCC is rated A3 with a negative outlook by Moody's Investors Service and BBB- with a stable outlook by Standard & Poor's credit ratings agency, Reuters noted.

Ford's bonds have rebounded sharply since November 12, when S&P cut its rating on the company to BBB-, the lowest rung of the investment-grade ladder, but crucially assigned a stable outlook to the rating. The market had been concerned that a negative outlook would have led investors who are unable to hold high-yield bonds to be forced into selling Ford paper, according to Reuters.

Euro-denominated bonds from Ford traded slightly lower after the announcement of the new issue, according to Reuters. A trader quoted the company's 5.75 percent January 2009 issue bid at 173 basis points over Bunds, some five basis points wider on the day, Reuters reported.