Here are news from 9/22/2000
*DJ Conseco, Banks Agree To Restructure $2.8B In Debt 22 Sep 17:14
*DJ Conseco To Cut Debt By More Than $3B By End Of 2003 22 Sep 17:14
*DJ Conseco To Cut Debt To Less Than 25% Of Total Capital 22 Sep 17:14
*DJ Conseco Pays $650M In Bank Debt Friday 22 Sep 17:15
*DJ Conseco Extends $571M Bank Debt To Dec. 31, 2001 22 Sep 17:15
*DJ Conseco Suspends Regular Quarterly Dividend 22 Sep 17:15
DJ Conseco Restructures Debt -2: Qtrly Dividend Was 5c
22 Sep 17:15
INDIANAPOLIS (Dow Jones)--Conseco Inc. (CNC) reached an agreement to
restructure $2.8 billion of debt and suspended its 5-cent quarterly dividend as
part of a financial restoration plan.
The agreement covers debt held by a 25-bank consortium led by Bank of America
Corp. (BAC) and Chase Manhattan Corp.'s (CMB) Chase Manhattan Bank.
In a press release Friday, Conseco said its financial plan will reduce debt
by more than $3 billion by the end of 2003. The company's debt, which has
increased to $5.9 billion over the past four years, will be cut to less than
25% of total capital from 41%.
Conseco is paying off $650 million of bank debt Friday.
(MORE) DOW JONES NEWS 09-22-00
05:15 PM
*DJ Conseco, Banks Agree To Restructure $2.8B In Debt >CNC 22 Sep 17:14
DJ Conseco Restructures Debt-3:Plan Includes Debt Extensions
22 Sep 17:23
Conseco said its financial plan includes the extension of $571 million of
bank debt to Dec. 31, 2001, funded by the sale of nonstrategic assets.
The plan also calls for the extension to December 2003 of $570 million of
loans and related Conseco guarantees comprising the Conseco directors and
officers stock purchase program.
Other major initiatives of the financial plan include payment of 2001 and
2002 public debt as scheduled, with $131 million due in December and $668
million due in June 2001; and payment of 2003 and 2004 public debt as
scheduled, with $450 million due in October 2002 and $310 million in February
2003.
On bank debt of $1.5 billion previously due September 2003, Conseco will make
payments of $150 million in each of 2002 and 2003, with an option to extend the
remaining $1.2 billion to 2005.
(MORE) DOW JONES NEWS 09-22-00
05:23 PM
DJ Conseco Restructures Debt -4: To Focus On Debt Ratings
22 Sep 17:34
As reported, the beginning elements of Conseco's financial plan center on
selling nonstrategic assets of the company and restructuring the operations of
Conseco Finance.
The company said these initiatives to generate cash have proceeded ahead of
schedule, and that it has identified more than $2 billion in assets to be sold
or monetized.
More than $700 million of proceeds from these activities have already been
realized, and total proceeds are expected to exceed $1 billion by the end of
the year.
Over the next three years, these two initiatives will help Conseco repay
$1.52 billion in bank debt and $1.56 billion in public debt.
The restructuring of the Conseco Finance unit included the layoff of 2,000
employees and annual expense reductions of more than $150 million.
Conseco said winning back "top-drawer" insurance and debt ratings would be
the next step in the company's plan.
(MORE) DOW JONES NEWS 09-22-00
05:34 PM
DJ Conseco Restructures Debt -5: Follows July 27 Plan
22 Sep 17:46
Conseco's debt restructuring announcement was widely anticipated. Conseco has
been wrestling with its balance sheet for some time, and much of the grappling
has been on public display since March, when it disclosed it had hired Lehman
Brothers to help find a buyer for Conseco Finance.
On July 27, Conseco announced the initial stages of the restructuring plan,
which included the elimination of five business lines in addition to the job
cuts and expense reductions at Conseco Finance.
Conseco said at the time it planned to sell off nonstrategic assets including
those acquired through Conseco Private Capital Group, such as the Lawrenceburg
riverboat, Tritel and a subprime auto portfolio.
The company also said in July that it would sell five units of Conseco
Finance: asset-based lending, vendor finance, transportation, park construction
and its bankcard portfolio.
The July restructuring plan prompted immediate speculation that Conseco would
seek to sell Conseco Finance outright, a move Chief Executive Gary C. Wendt
likened to cutting off one of his arms.
Meanwhile, fears about Conseco's debt proliferated, a phenomenon the company
blamed on misleading information disseminated by short sellers on Aug. 17.
Earlier in September, the company reached an agreement with Lehman Brothers
Holdings Inc. (LEH) that it called the last step toward finalizing the
restructuring of its bank facility.
Prior to that, on Sept. 1, Chase Manhattan Bank and Bank of America agreed to
extend $155 million of loans to Conseco to Friday.
Friday's extensions and related Conseco guarantees for the stock purchase
program to December 2003 calmed fears that the company itself would have to
cover some $100 million in loan losses.
According to The Wall Street Journal, under the loan program, 170 Conseco
directors, executive officers and highly paid Conseco employees took out bank
loans, totaling $575.8 million at year-end, to buy stock that subsequently
plummeted in value. The majority of the borrowing was done by directors and
executive officers, including Stephen Hilbert, the recently ousted founder,
chairman and chief executive.
Conseco's shares closed the regular New York Stock Exchange session at $9, up
25 cents or 2.9%.
-Stephen Lee & Jason Overdorf; Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5400
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 09-22-00
05:46 PM
CONSECO `RESTORATION PLAN' MOVES FORWARD;
COMPANY AND BANKS CLOSE ON DEBT RESTRUCTURING;
DEBT TO BE CUT BY $3 BILLION OVER 3 YEARS BUSINESS EDITORS INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SEPT. 22,
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 22, 2000--Conseco, Inc.
(NYSE:CNC.N) today announced that its lender banks have signed
amendments that will restructure the company's credit facilities.
The restructuring of this debt is a key component of the
"Restoration Plan" initiated by Gary C. Wendt after he joined Conseco
on June 29 as Chairman and CEO.
The agreement with the banks covers $2.8 billion of debt held by a
25-bank consortium led by Bank of America and Chase Manhattan Bank.
Wendt called the terms of the debt restructuring important news,
but said, "the larger story here -- what we call the Conseco
Restoration Plan -- is the complete re-engineering of the company's
financial structure. We are executing a plan that provides long term
stability and flexibility for our capital structure."
Over the past four years, Conseco's bank and public debt had
increased to approximately $5.9 billion. The Restoration Plan calls
for reducing the company's debt by more than $3 billion by year-end
2003, reducing Conseco's debt from 41% of total capital to less than
25%. More importantly, the Restoration Plan allows Conseco to meet its
debt obligations and improve its capital structure dramatically
without impacting its core businesses.
The beginning elements of the Conseco Restoration Plan center
around two initiatives: (1) selling non-strategic assets of the
company, and (2) restructuring the operations of Conseco Finance.
These initiatives to generate cash were implemented by Wendt soon
after his arrival at Conseco; they have proceeded ahead of schedule.
Over the next three years, these two cash-generating components of
the Restoration Plan are designed to enable Conseco to repay
$1.52 billion in bank debt and $1.56 billion in public debt.
To begin the debt reduction program the company has identified
more than $2 billion in assets to be sold or monetized. More than
$700 million of proceeds from these activities have already been
realized; total proceeds are expected to exceed $1 billion by year-end
2000.
The initial stages of the restructuring of Conseco Finance
operations were announced on July 27. That plan, designed to assure
stable growth, included the lay-off of 2000 employees and over
$150 million in annual expense reductions.
Major elements of the Restoration Plan, including terms of the
bank debt restructuring, include:
-- Payment of $650 million in bank debt on September 22, 2000;
-- Payment of 2001 and 2002 public debt as scheduled
($131 million in December 2000 and $668 million in June 2001);
-- Extension of $571 million of bank debt to December 31, 2001
funded by the sale of non-strategic assets;
-- Payment of 2003 and 2004 public debt as scheduled
($450 million in October 2002 and $310 million in
February 2003);
-- On $1.5 billion of bank debt previously due September 2003,
payments of $150 million in each of 2002 and 2003, with an
option to extend the remaining $1.2 billion to 2005;
-- Extension to December 2003 of the $570 million of loans and
related Conseco guarantees comprising the Conseco directors
and officers stock purchase program (to qualify for the loan
and guarantee extensions, borrowers will be required to enter
into a revised lending program, which will be finalized in the
4th quarter);
-- Suspension of the dividend on Conseco common stock beginning
in the current quarter (providing approximately $18 million
per quarter toward the financial restructuring);
Wendt said that winning back top-drawer insurance and debt ratings
would be the next step in the Restoration Plan. "With a stable and
flexible financial structure in place, we can turn our full attention
to building consistently profitable business operations."
-0-
*T
World Wide Web conseco.com
Investor Hotline 800.4.CONSECO
Fax-on-Demand 800.344.6452
Conseco restructures $2.8 billion of bank debt
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Sept 22 (Reuters) - Conseco Inc.
, the troubled U.S. life insurer, said on Friday it
agreed with its bankers to restructure $2.8 billion of bank
debt, as part of a plan to turn around its finances, weakened
by problems in its consumer loans unit.
New Conseco Chief Executive Gary Wendt, who was hired in
June to help turn the company around, said the bank debt
restructuring was part of a plan to cut Conseco's debt by more
than $3 billion over the next three years. Over the past four
years, Conseco's bank and public debt has mounted to about $5.9
billion.
Conseco planned to repay $1.52 billion in bank debt and
$1.56 in public debt over the next three years, Wendt said in a
statement, partly funded by selling off up to $2 billion of
assets. He said $700 million in proceeds from these sales had
already been realized.
REUTERS
Rtr 18:04 09-22-00
RPT-Conseco restructures $2.8 billion of bank debt
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Sept 22 (Reuters) - Conseco Inc.
, the troubled U.S. life insurer, said on Friday it
agreed with its bankers to restructure $2.8 billion of bank
debt, as part of a plan to turn around its finances, weakened
by problems in its consumer loans unit.
New Conseco Chief Executive Gary Wendt, who was hired in
June to help turn the company around, said the bank debt
restructuring was part of a plan to cut Conseco's debt by more
than $3 billion over the next three years. Over the past four
years, Conseco's bank and public debt has mounted to about $5.9
billion.
Conseco planned to repay $1.52 billion in bank debt and
$1.56 in public debt over the next three years, Wendt said in a
statement, partly funded by selling off up to $2 billion of
assets. He said $700 million in proceeds from these sales had
already been realized.
REUTERS
Rtr 18:28 09-22-00 |
