Dow Jones: CNC Negotiating with Lehman/LendersConseco Still
Negotiating Debt Maturity With Lehman & Lenders
to modify restrictions on the use of cash
proceeds from the sale of its Conseco Finance unit.
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Monday, August 14, 2000 06:54 PM
quicken.excite.com
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones )
--Conseco Inc. (CNC, news, msgs)
said it's negotiating with Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
(LEH, news, msgs) to modify restrictions on the use of cash proceeds from the sale of its Conseco Finance unit.
In its most recent quarterly report filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Conseco said it's optimistic the two parties can agree to an acceptable modification.
As reported in May, Conseco sold $1.3 billion of finance receivables to Lehman. The proceeds from the sale were used to repay various warehouse credit lines, creating increased warehousing capacity for Conseco Finance.
Conseco said the talks with Lehman relate to the insurance company's ongoing discussions with lenders to extend the maturity on its holding company debt.
As reported, about $1.4 billion of Conseco's debt and guarantees are expected to become due on or before Sept. 30. The company has announced plans to sell certain nonstrategic assets, such as its investment in wireless communications company Tritel Inc. (TTEL, news, msgs), its interest in a riverboat casino in Lawrenceberg, Ind., and its subprime auto loan portfolio, to pay off the debt.
Conseco expects these plans to sell nonstrategic assets, together with actions contemplated at Conseco Finance, will generate cash proceeds of about $2 billion over the next 12 to 15 months. |
