Avis pushes back debt maturities, repays loans

PARSIPPANY, N.J.

Rental car company Avis Budget Group Inc. said Wednesday that it has reached an agreement with its lenders to move back the maturity date of certain debt to improve its financial standing.

Avis said the maturity of its $1 billion revolving credit line has been pushed back two years to 2013, although the company doesn't have any outstanding borrowings.

The company also pushed back the repayment date of $275 million in borrowings by two years to 2014.

David Wyshner, chief financial officer of Avis, said the company now has debt repayments of only $50 million for the next three years.

Avis also has raised $450 million by offering senior notes maturing in 2018. The new senior unsecured debt carried an interest rate of 9 5/8 percent and was priced at 98.634 percent at par, or $986.34 for every $1,000 of face value.

The funds raised from the offering were used to repay loans that effectively had an interest rate of 9.2 percent.

Avis paid back $450 million of term loan borrowings.

Shares of Avis, based in Parsippany, N.J., fell 18 cents to $11.20 on Wednesday.