Qwest Seeks $4 Bln in Loans to Buy Frontier, U S West (Correct)
Bloomberg News
June 18, 1999, 11:56 a.m. PT
Qwest Seeks $4 Bln in Loans to Buy Frontier, U S West (Correct)
(Corrects headline to show Qwest targets.)
Rochester, New York, June 18 (Bloomberg) -- Qwest
Communications International Inc., the No. 4 U.S. long-distance
phone provider, is seeking $4 billion in loans to help pay for
its proposed purchase of Frontier Corp. and U S West Inc.,
bankers said.
Qwest's bankers, led Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities
Corp. and Bank of America Corp. are in the first stages of
organizing the loan. They plan for the borrowing to be spread
among many more lenders, a person familiar with their plans said.
The structure of the loans hasn't been set ''pending the
outcome of any bidding war,'' the person said. He expects loans
with maturities of up to five years.
Qwest bid $66.4 billion for the two companies Monday in an
attempt to break-up Global Crossing Ltd.'s earlier offer. Global
Crossing has said it won't raise its bid.
Frontier, the No. 5 U.S. long-distance phone company,
yesterday rejected Qwest's unsolicited proposal, saying it
prefers the existing agreement with Global Crossing. U S West,
the sixth-largest local provider said it's continuing to evaluate
Qwest's offer.
Qwest offered as much as 1.783 of its shares, or about
$64.18 for each share of U S West, or about $38 billion, so long
as Frontier accepts the bid. Qwest bid up to 1.226 of its shares
and $20 cash for Frontier, or about $13 billion. Qwest said it
would also assume about $11.4 billion in debt. |
