Nasdaq - UAUA
UAL Selects NASDAQ to List New Shares; Announces Exit Financing Facility Substantially Oversubscribed
Tuesday January 24, 9:00 am ET
Response to Credit Facility Underscores Success of Restructuring and United's Competitiveness
Trading of New UAL Stock Expected to Begin in Early February
CHICAGO, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- UAL Corporation, the holding company whose primary subsidiary is United Airlines, today announced that it has selected The NASDAQ Stock Market to list its new stock issue, which will trade under the ticker symbol "UAUA" beginning in early February.
The company also announced that it had received an overwhelmingly positive response to the syndication of its $3 billion exit financing facility, led by JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup Global Markets.
"We are very pleased with our selection of NASDAQ for the listing of our new UAL shares," said Glenn F. Tilton, chairman, president and CEO. "United has made fundamental and sustainable improvements in our operations, cost structure and revenue strategy. We are already competing successfully with the other leading carriers, and will strengthen that position through continuing operational improvements and differentiation based on customer needs in the marketplace."
"The tremendous response to our exit financing from the lenders' syndicate attests to what United and our people are accomplishing," said Tilton. "As we look to our future as a publicly traded company, we concluded that NASDAQ, with its cadre of dynamic companies, state-of the-art electronic trading platform and focus on first-rate customer service, was a natural fit for us."
"United is one of the world's premier brands and is repositioned as a leader in its industry," said Robert Greifeld, NASDAQ president and CEO. "NASDAQ is the home of category-defining companies across all industries and we are delighted that United has decided to join our market. We look forward to serving United and its investors with our superior trading experience."
The company expects to exit bankruptcy formally and begin trading in early February, following the U.S. Bankruptcy Court's approval of its Plan of Reorganization last week.
Separately, United announced that it received offers of subscription for more than twice the capital necessary to support the $3 billion in exit financing that it sought, which consists of a $2.8 billion term loan and a $200 million revolving credit line. Because of this response, terms of the financing improved to reduce the financing cost of the facility by 75 basis points to 375 basis points over the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR).
"Response to syndication of our exit facility is yet another validation of the substantial and sustainable improvements made during our restructuring," said Jake Brace, executive vice president and chief financial officer.
James B. Lee, vice chairman of JPMorgan Chase, said, "As it completes the restructuring, United has proven itself to be attractive to a wide range of institutional lenders. This is the largest exit financing ever raised in the loan market and is well oversubscribed, a strong sign of lender confidence."
Under its Plan of Reorganization, UAL Corporation will begin to issue up to 125 million shares of common stock in early February. Most shares will go to the company's former unsecured creditors.