Telecom Argentina S.A. Announces a Prepayment on Its Outstanding Notes
09 April 2008 - 8:46AM
PR Newswire (US)
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, April 8, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Telecom Argentina (BASE: TECO2, NYSE: TEO), one of Argentina's
leading telecommunications groups, announced today that, subject to
any change in Argentine Central Bank regulations, it intends to
make a Note Payment (as defined in the Notes) on April 15, 2008 or
as soon as practicable thereafter. This Note Payment will result in
the payment of the remaining 26.4% of the principal amortization
payment scheduled to be paid on October 15, 2010, the payment in
whole of the principal amortization payment scheduled to be paid on
April 15, 2011 and the payment of 45% of the principal amortization
payment scheduled to be paid on October 15, 2011. On the same date,
Telecom Argentina intends to make the corresponding interest
payment. Series Currency Due Date ISIN No. % of the % of Original
Original Principal Amount Principal Outstanding after Amount the
Note Payment Series A US$ 2014 US879273AK60 12.2380% 45.0870%
XS0218481744 Not Listed Euro 2014 XS0218482122 12.2380% 45.0870%
XS0218482395 Not Listed AR$ 2014 Not Listed 12.2380% 45.0870% JPY
2014 Not Listed 12.2380% 45.0870% Series B US$ 2011 US879273AM27
12.8550% 4.125% XS0218482981 Not Listed The payment shall be made
to the holders of the Notes held in global form through the
settlement systems of DTC, Euroclear or Clearstream, as applicable.
Payments to holders of Notes in certificated form will be made by
wire transfer to the accounts of the respective holders. Telecom is
the parent company of a leading telecommunications group in
Argentina, where it offers directly or through its controlled
subsidiaries local and long distance fixed-line telephony,
cellular, data transmission and Internet services, among other
services. Additionally, through a controlled subsidiary, the
Telecom Group offers cellular services in Paraguay. The Company
commenced operations on November 8, 1990, upon the Argentine
Government's transfer of the telecommunications system in the
northern region of Argentina. Nortel Inversora S.A. ("Nortel"),
which acquired the majority of the Company from the Argentine
government, holds 54.74% of Telecom's common stock. Nortel is a
holding company where the common stock (approximately 68% of
capital stock) is owned by Sofora Telecomunicaciones S.A..
Additionally, Nortel capital stock is comprised of preferred shares
that are held by minority shareholders. As of December 31, 2007,
Telecom had 984,380,978 shares outstanding. (*) Employee Stock
Ownership Program For more information, please contact the Investor
Relations Department: Pedro Insussarry 54-11-4968-3743 Solange
Barthe Dennin 54-11-4968-3752 Evangelina Sanchez 54-11-4968-3718
Ruth Fuhrmann 54-11-4968-4448 Voice Mail: 54-11-4968-3628 Fax:
54-11-4313-5842 E-mail: For information about Telecom Group
services, visit:
http://www.telecom.com.ar/http://www.personal.com.ar/http://www.personal.com.py/http://www.arnet.com.ar/
Disclaimer This document may contain statements that could
constitute forward-looking statements, including, but not limited
to, the Company's expectations for its future performance,
revenues, income, earnings per share, capital expenditures,
dividends, liquidity and capital structure; the effects of its debt
restructuring process; the impact of emergency laws enacted by the
Argentine Government; and the impact of rate changes and
competition on the Company's future financial performance.
Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as
"believes," "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "intends,"
"should," "seeks," "estimates," "future" or other similar
expressions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties that could significantly affect the Company's
expected results. The risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to, the impact of emergency laws enacted by the Argentine
government that have resulted in the repeal of Argentina's
Convertibility law, devaluation of the peso, various changes in
restrictions on the ability to exchange pesos into foreign
currencies, and currency transfer policy generally, the
"pesification" of tariffs charged for public services, the
elimination of indexes to adjust rates charged for public services
and the Executive branch announcement to renegotiate the terms of
the concessions granted to public service providers, including
Telecom. Due to extensive changes in laws and economic and business
conditions in Argentina, it is difficult to predict the impact of
these changes on the Company's financial condition. Other factors
may include, but are not limited to, the evolution of the economy
in Argentina, growing inflationary pressure and evolution in
consumer spending and the outcome of certain legal proceedings.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements, which speak only as the date of this
document. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly
the results of any revisions to forward-looking statements which
may be made to reflect events and circumstances after the date of
this press release, including, without limitation, changes in the
Company's business or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated
events. Readers are encouraged to consult the Company's Annual
Report on Form 20-F, as well as periodic filings made on Form 6-K,
which are filed with or furnished to the United States Securities
and Exchange Commission for further information concerning risks
and uncertainties faced by Telecom. http://www.telecom.com.ar/
DATASOURCE: Telecom Argentina S.A. CONTACT: Pedro Insussarry, or
Solange Barthe Dennin, both of Telecom Argentina, +1-5411-4968-3743
or +1-5411-4968-3752
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