Clearwire Gets $1B Loan
By Jonathan Hemingway -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/5/2007 11:32:00 AM
Wireless high-speed internet provider Clearwire announced today it landed a $1 billion loan to refinance debt and expand the company's operations.
The company said it closed the first tranche of the fully-committed senior secured loan
with the remainder being funded on a delayed draw basis in 45 days. Proceeds from the deal will, in part, be used to refinance debt, essentially extending the company’s existing debt by a period of five years. The financing was led by Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan and Citigroup.
"Clearwire is capitalizing on the momentum we have in the market place to drive down our cost of capital, extend our debt maturities, simplify our balance sheet and provide additional capital resources," said Clearwire CFO John Butler.
Last month the company announced distribution agreements with DirecTV and Echostar to provide broadband services to the DBS provider’s bundled services.
