*Calpine says to close $1 bln financing "very soon"
LOS ANGELES, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Independent power producer Calpine Corp. (NYSE:CPN - news) said Friday it expected to close a $1 billion unsecured working capital credit facility ``very soon.''
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``We are in final documentation and we are confident that we are going to be closing very soon,'' spokeswoman Katherine Potter told Reuters.
On Friday, the company's stock fell more than 10 percent to its lowest since June 1999 as investors awaited news on whether the new credit line, critical to fund Calpine's still ambitious
power plant construction program, had been finalized.
``The market is looking at this as critically important to Calpine. If it doesn't come through, there will be a lot of very tough decisions to make,'' said Gordon Howald, analyst with Credit Lyonnais.
The company announced plans on Jan. 10 to add the credit facility. At that time Calpine said it expected to close the new facility by the end of that month.
Speculation the closure was imminent rose after the company's chief executive officer Peter Cartwright told an industry conference last week that he expected the facility to close ``in about a week.''
Shares of San Jose, California-based Calpine closed down 21 cents at $7.11 on the New York Stock Exchange, above its earlier intraday low of $6.39.
Concerns about the company's liquidity, combined with weak market conditions, prompted Calpine to slash up to $2 billion from capital spending plans and postpone plans to build 34 new power plants, leaving 26 new plants currently under construction. |
