TETERBORO, N.J., June 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Quest Diagnostics Incorporated
(NYSE: DGX) announced today that it intends to raise approximately
$500 million through a public offering of senior notes.
The expected net proceeds from the offering, together with cash on hand
and the expected proceeds from the company's planned senior unsecured credit
facility, will be used to make payments required under the previously
announced cash tender offer and consent solicitation of 10-3/4% senior
subordinated notes due 2006, as well as to repay all amounts outstanding under
the company's existing senior secured credit facility. The notes offering and
the new senior unsecured credit facility are part of a plan to refinance a
majority of the company's existing indebtedness in order to reduce overall
interest costs.
The proposed offering is to be made pursuant to the company's universal
shelf registration statement, filed earlier this year, which has been declared
effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Merrill Lynch & Co. and Credit Suisse First Boston are serving as lead
underwriters for the offering.
Quest Diagnostics is the nation's leading provider of diagnostic testing,
information and services with annual revenues of $3.4 billion in 2000. The
Company's diagnostic testing yields information that enables health care
professionals and consumers to make better decisions to improve health. Quest
Diagnostics offers patients and physicians the broadest access to diagnostic
testing services through its national network of approximately 30 full-service
laboratories, 150 rapid response laboratories and more than 1,300 patient
service centers, where specimens are collected. Quest Diagnostics is the
leading provider of esoteric testing, including gene-based testing, and is the
leader in routine medical testing, drugs of abuse testing, and anatomic
pathology testing. Through partnerships with pharmaceutical, biotechnology
and information technology companies, Quest Diagnostics provides support to
help speed the development of health care insights and new therapeutics.
Additional Company information can be found on the Internet at:
http://www.questdiagnostics.com.
The statements in this press release which are not historical facts or
information may be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the outcome to be
materially different. Certain of these risks and uncertainties are described
in the Quest Diagnostics Incorporated 2000 Form 10-K and subsequent filings.
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SOURCE Quest Diagnostics Incorporated
CONTACT: Investors - Cathy Doherty, 201-393-5030, or Media - Gary
Samuels, 201-393-5700, both for Quest Diagnostics/