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Qwest sells
$800M in debt securities Friday, January 8, 2010, 11:39am MST
Qwest Communications International Inc.
sold $800 million in debt securities Thursday that mature in
2018 and will help it pay $525 million in debt coming due next
year. The Denver-based telecom (NYSE: Q) sold more
of the new debt securities than it initially announced it would.
The company moved to place $500 million in debt notes --
yielding 7.125 percent every six months and coming due in eight
years -- and instead was able to sell $800 million worth. The debt is meant for general business
purposes, including paying down some of the nearly $4.2 billion
in debt Qwest has coming due in 2010 and 2011 Qwest plans to pay
off $525 million in 2011 debt on Feb. 16. Some of Qwest's success in selling the new
2018 debt may be related to the company's news it will meet the
high end of its projected range for 2009 in key financial areas. The company said Wednesday that 2009 financial
results, expected to be issued next month, will include free
cash flow approaching $1.7 billion and expenditures of no more
than $1.6 billion. Qwest also said it should spend less on
pension expenses this year than it did in 2009 due to stopping
non-union pension contributions and eliminating some retiree
death benefits.
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