MONROE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 11, 2005--CenturyTel, Inc.
(NYSE: CTL) announced today that it has remarketed, at a price of
101.153%, approximately $460 million of its outstanding $500 million
of Senior Notes, Series J, due 2007, which previously formed a part of
the equity units sold by CenturyTel
in May 2002. Banc of America
Securities LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. and Wachovia
Capital
Markets, LLC are acting as joint remarketing agents.
CenturyTel
has agreed to purchase and retire approximately $400
million of the Series J Notes in connection with the remarketing. The
remaining $100 million of Series J Notes (approximately $40 million of
which will be retained by the current note holders who elected not to
participate in the remarketing) will have their annual interest rate
reset to 4.628%, which will be effective February 15, 2005.
The remarketing was required under the original terms of
CenturyTel's
equity units, and is scheduled to close on February 15,
2005. The net proceeds from the remarketed notes will be used to
purchase a portfolio of treasury securities that will serve as
substitute collateral to secure settlement in May 2005 of the forward
stock purchase contracts component of the equity units.
CenturyTel
intends to finance its purchase of remarketed notes
with the net proceeds from its recently announced offering of $350
million of Senior Notes, Series M, due 2015, together with cash on
hand.
In connection with the retirement of the repurchased notes, the
Company expects to incur a one-time pre-tax debt extinguishment charge
of approximately $6.1 million. Upon closing of the offering and
remarketing on the terms proposed, CenturyTel's
total indebtedness is
expected to decrease by approximately $50 million.
CenturyTel's
long-term debt is rated BBB+ (stable outlook) by
Standard & Poor's, Baa2 (stable outlook) by Moody's Investor Services
and BBB+ (negative outlook) by Fitch Ratings.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a
solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any
sale of the securities described herein in any state or jurisdiction
in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The
remarketing may be made only by means of CenturyTel's
pricing
supplement and accompanying prospectus supplement and prospectus,
which may be obtained when available from Banc of America
Securities
LLC, NC1-027-15-01, 214 North Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC 28255, Attn:
Liability Management, (704)-387-1004; J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., 270
Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017, Attn: Investment Grade Syndicate
Desk, (212)-834-4533 and Wachovia
Capital Markets, LLC, 301 South
College Street, NC 28288, Attn: High Grade Syndicate Desk, (704)
383-7727.
This press release includes certain estimates and forward-looking
statements. Actual results may differ materially from those in the
estimates and forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect
actual results include but are not limited to the possibility of
unforeseen near-term cash requirements or changes in interest rates or
general market conditions. You should not place undue reliance on
these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of
this press release.
CenturyTel, Inc.
(NYSE: CTL) provides a full range of local, long
distance, Internet and broadband services to consumers in 22 states.
Included in the S&P 500 Index, CenturyTel
is a leading provider of
integrated communications services to rural areas and smaller cities
in the United States. Visit CenturyTel
at www.centurytel.com.
CONTACT: CenturyTel, Inc.
, Monroe
Media:
Patricia Cameron, 318-388-9674
patricia.cameron@centurytel.com
or
Investors:
Tony Davis, 318-388-9525
tony.davis@centurytel.com
SOURCE: CenturyTel, Inc.