They always get more money than they said early.
Friday February 2, 2:34 pm Eastern Time
Press Release
Vendor Services Sale Nets $180 Million -- 63% More Than Initial
Estimate
INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 2, 2001--As announced yesterday by Wells Fargo, the sale of the Vendor Services business of Conseco
Finance has been completed.
News of this sale was originally announced on December 11, 2000. The sale closed on Wednesday, January 31. Cash proceeds from the sale were dependent
on January collections and were not known until today.
As it relates to the disposition of Conseco (NYSE:CNC - news) assets to fund the company's $2 billion debt reduction program, the sale of the Vendor
Services business will provide net cash proceeds to Conseco of $180 million.
This transaction netted 63% more than Conseco's original estimate of $110 million made public on September 25, 2000. (In the December 11 announcement
of the sale, net proceeds were estimated to be $160 million.)
Total cash proceeds from the sale or monetization of assets under the Conseco Restoration Plan are now $1.714 billion for assets initially valued at $1.475
billion. The disposition of these assets for $239 million more than originally anticipated represents a 16% premium.
Conseco announced in December 2000 that it already has enough cash in hand or contracted for to meet its June public debt retirement of $670 million. Of the
17 non-strategic assets originally put up for monetization, only three remain. While sale of all three of these remaining assets is not required to meet the
company's $2 billion debt retirement objective, it remains Conseco's intent to dispose of these assets in 2001.
Note on forward-looking statements: All statements, trend analyses and other information contained in this release and elsewhere (such as in filings by Conseco
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, press releases, presentations by Conseco or its management or oral statements) relative to markets for
Conseco's products and trends in Conseco's operations or financial results, as well as other statements including words such as ``anticipate,'' ``believe,''
``plan,'' ``estimate,'' ``expect,'' ``intend,'' ``should,'' ``could,'' ``goal,'' ``target,'' ``on track,'' ``comfortable with,'' ``optimistic'' and other similar expressions,
constitute forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results to be materially different from those contemplated by the forward-looking
statements. Such factors include, among other things: (1) general economic conditions and other factors, including prevailing interest rate levels, stock and credit
market performance and health care inflation, which may affect (among other things) Conseco's ability to sell its products, its ability to make loans and access
capital resources and the costs associated therewith, the market value of Conseco's investments, the lapse rate and profitability of policies, and the level of
defaults and prepayments of loans made by Conseco; (2) Conseco's ability to achieve anticipated synergies and levels of operational efficiencies; (3) customer
response to new products, distribution channels and marketing initiatives; (4) mortality, morbidity, usage of health care services and other factors which may
affect the profitability of Conseco's insurance products; (5) performance of our investments; (6) changes in the Federal income tax laws and regulations which
may affect the relative tax advantages of some of Conseco's products; (7) increasing competition in the sale of insurance and annuities and in the finance
business; (8) regulatory changes or actions, including those relating to regulation of financial services affecting (among other things) bank sales and underwriting
of insurance products, regulation of the sale, underwriting and pricing of products, and health care regulation affecting health insurance products; (9) the
outcome of Conseco's efforts to sell assets and reduce, refinance or modify indebtedness and the availability and cost of capital in connection with this process;
(10) actions by rating agencies and the effects of past or future actions by these agencies on Conseco's business; and (11) the risk factors or uncertainties listed
from time to time in Conseco's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
