Cooper Companies Secures New $225 Million Syndicated Credit Facility.Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers LAKE FOREST, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2002 The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :COO) today announced the successful syndication of a $225 million bank credit facility. The facility is comprised of a $75 million five-year term loan with an interest only payment in the first year then fully amortized in the next four years, and a $150 million three year revolving credit Revolving Credit A line of credit where the customer pays a commitment fee and is then allowed to use the funds when they are needed. It is usually used for operating purposes, fluctuating each month depending on the customers current cash flow needs. facility. KeyBank is the agent for the eleven-bank syndication. "We are very pleased with the response to this new facility and with the high quality banks that are participating," said Robert S. Weiss, Cooper's executive vice president and chief financial officer. "The facility was oversubscribed Refers to connecting more users to a system than can be fully supported if all of them were using it at the same time. Networks and servers are almost always designed with some amount of oversubscription, counting on the fact that everybody does not need the service simultaneously. , a sign of strong support for our continued growth. This allowed us to triple the size of our previous credit facility with competitive pricing." Use of Proceeds Cooper plans to use the facility for general corporate purposes and capital expenditures. At closing, Cooper will pay off $62 million under its existing line of credit and (pound)44 million in notes owed to Biocompatibles International plc as a result of Cooper's purchase of Biocompatibles Eyecare, Inc., completed on February 28, 2002. Additionally, $21 million of the revolving credit facility is reserved to retire loans due to note holders of Aspect Vision Care, Ltd., a contact lens contact lens, thin plastic lens worn between the eye and eyelid that may be used instead of eyeglasses. Actors, models, and others wear them for appearance, and athletes use them for safety and convenience. business that the Company purchased in December 1997. An additional $44 million is temporarily reserved until certain British statutory procedures have been completed, which is expected to occur within the month. Terms and Covenants Interest rates under the new facility are based on LIBOR LIBOR See: London Interbank Offered Rate LIBOR See London interbank offered rate (LIBOR). plus additional basis points predicated on Cooper's ratio of debt to its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is a non-GAAP metric that can be used to evaluate a company's profitability.
The credit agreement limits Cooper's debt to no more than 50 percent of total capitalization Total capitalization The total long-term debt and all types of equity of a company that constitutes its capital structure. total capitalization See capitalization. , dividends to $1.25 million per quarter and requires the ratio of EBITDA to fixed charges (as defined in the agreement) to be at least 1.3 to 1. As of April 30, 2002, Cooper estimates that debt was approximately 37 percent of total capitalization and that its ratio of EBITDA to fixed charges was approximately 1.9 to 1. While there is a requirement for the syndicate to consent to acquisitions above levels set in the agreement, Cooper does not expect that its market consolidation strategy in its CooperSurgical women's healthcare unit or any other acquisition activities will be limited. Forward-Looking Statements Some of the information included in this news release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. Forward-looking statements include all statements regarding anticipated growth in our revenue, anticipated market conditions and results of operations. To identify forward-looking statements look for words like "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "intends," "plans," "estimates" or "anticipates" and similar words or phrases. Discussions of strategy, plans or intentions often contain forward-looking statements. These, and all forward-looking statements, necessarily depend on assumptions, data or methods that may be incorrect or imprecise. Events, among others, that could cause actual results and future actions to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements include major changes in business conditions, a major disruption in the operations of our manufacturing facilities, new competitors or technologies, the impact of an undetected virus on our computer systems, acquisition integration delays costs, increases in interest rates, foreign currency exchange exposure, investments in research and development and other start-up projects, dilution to earnings per share from acquisitions or issuing stock, regulatory issues, changes in tax laws, significant environmental cleanup The process of removing solid, liquid, and hazardous wastes, except for unexploded ordnance, resulting from the joint operation of US forces to a condition that approaches the one existing prior to operation as determined by the environmental baseline survey, if one was conducted. costs above those already accrued, litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. costs including any related settlements, cost of business divestitures, the requirement to provide for a significant liability or to write off a significant asset, changes in accounting principles or estimates, and other factors described in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the "Business" section in our Annual Report on Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. for the year ended October 31, 2001. We caution investors that forward-looking statements reflect our analysis only on their stated date. We disclaim any intent to update them except as required by law. Corporate Information The Cooper Companies, Inc. and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market specialty healthcare products. Corporate offices are located in Lake Forest and Pleasanton, Calif. A toll free interactive telephone system at 1-800-334-1986 provides stock quotes, recent press releases and financial data. The Cooper Companies' World Wide Web address is www.coopercos.com. CooperSurgical, Inc., with operations in Trumbull, Conn., Fort Atkinson Fort Atkinson is the name of three locations in the United States:
CooperVision, Inc., markets a broad range of contact lenses for the vision care market. Headquartered in Lake Forest, Calif., it manufactures in Huntington Beach, Calif., Rochester, N.Y., Norfolk, Va., Adelaide, Australia, Farnborough and Hamble, England, Madrid, Spain and Toronto. Its Web address is www.coopervision.com. |
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