Share buybacks, dividends and other shareholder-friendly initiatives continue to threaten credit quality and bondholder interests, according to panelists and attendees. At chemical company Celanese's presentation, CFO Corliss Nelson reassured investors deleveraging remains a priority for the company. And despite a slew of dividends last year to majority shareholder The Blackstone Group, he said the company still has $500 million of cash on its balance sheet. But one concerned--and skeptical--investor asked the cfo to outline how he intends to use his free cash flow. "We have three or four buckets," Nelson said, mentioning he intends to deleverage the company, look at acquisitions, return a modest dividend to shareholders and maintain the company's assets. When the investor, unconvinced, asked if there was a particular order to those initiatives, Nelson responded, "There is no priority to our order; we're looking seriously at ways to deleverage the company."
Fears Of Equity-Friendly Acts Persist
