Citizens Communications is preparing to refinance $2 billion in loans between now and October when existing lines mature. Don Armour, v.p., finance and treasurer for Citizens, said the new revolver would most likely be a multi-year backstop with the same institutions that led a $5.7 billion line arranged last year. Chase Manhattan Bank was the lead arranger on that credit, which has been downsized after a $1.7 billion note sale earlier this year and will be cut even more by a planned $1.75 billion private offering of 144A senior notes. The company is coming in with a $2 billion deal because it does not need a revolver as large as the existing facility.
"The note offering, led by Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan, was an opportunistic financing, designed to term out bank debt," Armour said. Other lenders to the company include Bank of America, BANK ONE, and Citicorp. Pricing and the exact date of the launch of the loan are not yet decided, he said.