INTERMET Lenders Approve Cash Collateral Extension
October 14 2004 - 7:38PM
PR Newswire (US)
INTERMET Lenders Approve Cash Collateral Extension Hearing
scheduled next week to approve interim funding under DIP facility
TROY, Mich., Oct. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- INTERMET Corporation
(Pink Sheets: INMTQ) today announced that its pre-petition lenders
have agreed to permit the company's continued use of cash
collateral pending the availability of its debtor-in-possession
(DIP) credit facility, subject to a budget that has been approved
by the pre-petition lenders. Use of cash collateral under this
agreement extends through October 22, 2004. The company believes
that access to its cash collateral should be adequate for the
conduct of business prior to closing of the DIP credit facility.
INTERMET is continuing its negotiations for a DIP facility and has
entered into a commitment with Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas
and The Bank of Nova Scotia for a twelve-month secured DIP
revolving credit facility in the principal amount of $60 million.
The Bankruptcy Court will consider the company's request for
approval of up to $20 million under the DIP facility at a hearing
scheduled for Tuesday, October 19, 2004. In addition to court
approval, the $20 million is subject to an agreed-upon budget,
execution of definitive loan documentation, which the company
expects will occur next week, and other customary conditions,
including the placement of a lien on substantially all of
INTERMET's assets having priority over the liens of the company's
pre-petition lenders. The remaining $40 million of availability
under the DIP facility is subject to various additional conditions
and limitations, including approval by the DIP lenders of a 13-week
cash-flow budget and certain financial projections prepared by
INTERMET and final approval by the court. INTERMET will be subject
to customary financial and other covenants under the terms of the
DIP facility. INTERMET's Board of Directors has voted to suspend
payments of the quarterly dividend of $0.01 per share declared in
July 2004 and scheduled to be paid October 1, 2004, to shareholders
of record on September 1, 2004. About INTERMET With headquarters in
Troy, Michigan, INTERMET Corporation is a manufacturer of
powertrain, chassis/suspension and structural components for the
automotive industry. The company has approximately 6,000 employees
worldwide. More information is available on the Internet at
http://www.intermet.com/ . Cautionary Statement This news release
includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words and
phrases "believes," "should be," "expects" and similar expressions,
identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not
guarantees of future performance but instead involve various risks
and uncertainties. INTERMET's actual results may differ materially
from those suggested by its forward- looking statements due to
factors such as: the economic cost, management distraction and lost
business opportunities associated with bankruptcy proceedings;
INTERMET's ability to consummate its anticipated DIP financing; the
high cost of scrap steel and the possibility that scrap steel costs
will remain at high levels or continue to increase, which would
have further negative effects on INTERMET's profitability, cash
flow, liquidity and ability to borrow; fluctuations in the cost of
other raw materials, including the cost of energy, aluminum, zinc,
magnesium and alloys, and INTERMET's ability, if any, to pass those
costs on to its customers; pricing practices of INTERMET's
customers, including changes in their payment terms resulting from
the discontinuation of early payment programs and continuing
demands for price concessions as a condition to retaining current
business or obtaining new business, and the negative effect that
price concessions have on profit margins; changes in procurement
practices and policies of INTERMET's customers for automotive
components, including the risk of the loss of major customers or
the loss of current or prospective vehicle programs as a result of
INTERMET's financial condition and prospects (or otherwise);
possible inability to close unprofitable plants or to transfer work
from one plant to another because of the related costs or customer
requirements; general economic conditions, including any downturn
in the markets in which INTERMET operates; fluctuations in
automobile and light and heavy truck production, which directly
affect demand for INTERMET's products; deterioration in the market
share of any of INTERMET's major customers; fluctuations in foreign
currency exchange rates; work stoppages or other labor disputes
that could disrupt production at INTERMET's facilities or those of
its customers; continuing changes in environmental regulations to
which INTERMET is subject, and the costs INTERMET will incur in
meeting more stringent regulations; factors or presently unknown
circumstances that may result in impairment of INTERMET's assets,
including further write-downs of its goodwill; and other risks as
detailed from time to time in INTERMET's periodic SEC reports.
DATASOURCE: INTERMET Corporation CONTACT: Investor Inquiries: Bytha
Mills, or Media Inquiries: Mike Kelly, both of INTERMET
Corporation, +1-248-952-2500 Web site: http://www.intermet.com/
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