Plum Creek recently announced that it has used the proceeds from its recent $575 million, 4.7 percent bond issuance to prepay $463 million of debt.
The company completed the early retirement of an aggregate of $213 million of private placement notes scheduled to mature during the fourth quarter of 2011. The company retired $37 million of 7.97 percent notes and $176 million of 7.66 percent notes. In addition, the company has pre-paid, in full, its $250 million term credit agreement scheduled to mature in June 2012 that carried an interest rate of LIBOR plus 1 percent.
The company expects to record a one-time charge of $13 million (approximately $0.08 per diluted share) in the fourth quarter of 2010 for debt retirement costs. Pre-payment of the private notes will reduce the company’s interest expense by approximately $14 million.
"During the past month we’ve renewed our credit facility and completed these debt pre-payments. These actions successfully conclude the company’s refinancing plans," said Rick Holley, president and CEO. "We enter the new year with a strong balance sheet, attractive financing costs and ample liquidity. We will continue to be conservative in the management of our balance sheet and are well positioned to execute on our strategies aimed at maximizing the value of our shareholders’ investment in the company."
