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Alaska Communications Strengthens its Liquidity and Financial Flexibility, While Reducing Borrowing Rates, With Refinancing of its DebtAlaska Communications (News - Alert) (NASDAQ: ALSK) today announced it refinanced its credit agreements, thereby negotiating a reduction in its interest rates, extending the term, increasing capacity for shareholder friendly actions, resetting and widening key covenant thresholds and establishing incremental flexible capacity for success-based capital expenditures. Alaska Communications Systems (News - Alert) Holdings, Inc., as Borrower, Alaska Communications Systems Group, Inc., as Parent (collectively "Alaska Communications") and subsidiaries of Alaska Communications, as guarantors, and ING Capital LLC ("ING"), as sole book runner and joint-lead arranger, entered into a new senior credit facility with existing and additional lenders. A summary of the terms follows:
"In the context of a very volatile and challenging market situation, our ability to secure favorable terms while concurrently increasing our access to capital reflects our credit group's confidence in the credibility of the Company's business plan, and our ability to execute against that plan. Important highlights from the transaction include:
"ING is pleased to continue its great partnership with Alaska Communications as its lead lender, and we look forward to continuing our great partnership with the company. We believe the success of this transaction demonstrates that there are a group of thoughtful lending institutions that recognize Alaska Communications' intrinsic value and long-term potential," said Stephen Nettler, Managing Director of ING Capital LLC. Alaska Communications will file a Current Report on Form 8-K that describes the transactions in greater detail. Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes certain "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs as well as on a number of assumptions concerning future events made using information currently available to management. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the Company's control. Such factors include, without limitation, Federal and Alaska Universal Service Fund changes, funding through the rural health care universal service support mechanism and our ability to comply with the regulatory requirements to receive those support payments, adverse economic conditions, the effects of competition in our markets, our relatively small size compared with our competitors, the Company's ability to compete, manage, integrate, market, maintain, and attract sufficient customers for its products and services, adverse changes in labor matters, including workforce levels, our ability to service our debt and refinance as required, labor negotiations, employee benefit costs, our ability to control other operating costs, disruption of our supplier's provisioning of critical products or services, the actions of activist shareholders, the impact of natural or man-made disasters, changes in Company's relationships with large customers, unforeseen changes in public policies, regulatory changes, changes in technology and standards, our internal control over financial reporting, and changes in accounting standards or policies, which could affect reported financial results. For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with the Company's business, please refer to the Company's SEC (News - Alert) filings, including, but not limited to, the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Copies of the Company's SEC filings may be obtained by contacting its investor relations department at (907) 564-7556 or by visiting its investor relations website at www.alsk.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190115005947/en/ |