NEW YORK-Amdocs Ltd., a St. Louis-based provider of telecommunications billing and related services and software, raised $500 million through the private placement of seven-year senior convertible notes paying 2 percent interest.
Within 30 days, the purchaser also may elect to purchase up to $100 million more of these securities, which Amdocs sold at par, or face, value. The buyer may elect to redeem the notes on the third and fifth anniversary dates of their issue, but Amdocs retains the right to decide whether to repay the note holders in cash or exchange the notes for 10.86 shares of common stock per $1,000 of par value.
Amdocs said it had no immediate need for the money raised, but it decided to issue the debt because of the attractive terms of the deal.
Standard & Poor’s Corp. assigned a high-tier, speculative-grade rating of BBB-plus to the issue.
“Amdocs has a top-tier customer base, a significant recurring revenue stream and good revenue visibility,” said Philip Schrank, the S&P analyst who wrote the rating report.
“The company’s market positions are defensible due to investments in complex and scalable computer solutions, long-term customer relationships with high switching (churn) costs (to the customers) and expertise in the telecommunications industry.”
