Sprint issues $1.3B in new debt notes

Sprint Nextel priced $1.3 billion in new senior notes to be repaid in 2017. The new offering will raise money to help pay for general corporate purposes, such as network expansions or for acquisitions.

Sprint's stock was down slightly after the news to around $3.50 per share.

The eight-year notes will pay 8.375 percent when they are repaid. Sprint said the sale is expected to close on Thursday. Earlier yesterday, in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Sprint had said it was pricing $500 million in new senior notes due in 2017, and that the increased offering reflected the market's response.

Sprint already has about $21 billion in debt. When the company reported its second quarter results in late July it said it had already paid all of its 2009 debt obligations. The company said it had $4.6 billion of cash on hand and $6.1 billion of total liquidity--enough to repay its debt through 2011.

Next year, Sprint's debt schedule shows that it has $607 million due Jan. 15, $750 million due June 28 and $1 billion due Dec. 19. However, that schedule does not include the $205 million in debt Sprint is expecting to pay as a result of its acquisition of Virgin Mobile USA.

For more:
- see this release
[1]- see this Kansas City Star [1]article [2]

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