6/30/01 (WhatTheyThink.com) - Reuters is reporting the troubled office equipment maker Xerox plans in July to offer about $500 million asset-backed securities, supported by equipment leases, market sources said on Friday. The floating-rate, asset-backed deal, likely to be offered globally, will be the biggest asset-backed deal yet from the Stamford, Conn.-based company, the sources said. As for its debt, Xerox's unsecured bond rating has been downgraded to junk status by bond rating agencies Fitch and Moody's Investors Service. In April, the other leading U.S. rating service Standard & Poor's said it may follow suit if Xerox's financial conditions deteriorate further. As part of its turnaround, Xerox has sought ways to improve its cash holdings. Earlier this month, it obtained a $500 million secured credit line from Bankers Trust Co., a division of Deutsche Bank.