Meritage to extend debt six years with $195 million tender offers

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., April 9 - Meritage Homes Corp. vice president of investor relations Brent Anderson said the company's recently announced tender offers to purchase up to $195 million principal amount of two series of notes is "an opportunistic transaction" given the current rate environment.

"We felt it was a good opportunity to push out the maturities of our bonds by six years for relatively little cost," Anderson said.

Anderson said Meritage is sitting on more than $400 million of cash on its balance sheet. The company plans to use the money for working capital if necessary to rebuild its lot supply.

As previously reported, Meritage is offering to purchase any and all of its $130 million of 7% senior notes due May 1, 2014.

In a second offer, the company is offering to purchase up to $65 million of its $350 million of 6¼% senior notes due 2015 in a modified Dutch auction.

For each $1,000 principal amount, the purchase price is $1,025 for the 7% notes and the acceptable bid range for the 6¼% notes is $960 to $1,000. These prices include an early tender premium of $20 for each note tendered by midnight ET on April 19.

The offers will expire at midnight ET on May 3 and are conditioned on Meritage's completion of a private offering of at least $200 million principal amount of unsecured senior debt securities that closes no later than April 19.

Meritage is a homebuilder based in Scottsdale, Ariz.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.