SAN DIEGO, Calif., March 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gen-Probe
Incorporated (Nasdaq: GPRO) announced today that it is borrowing $170 million
under a newly issued line of credit to finance its pending acquisition of
Tepnel Life Sciences PLC and other general corporate activities, including its
existing share repurchase program.
The Company will pay interest on the one-year, $180 million revolving
credit facility, provided by Bank of America, at a floating rate 0.6 percent
above the one-month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), which was
approximately 0.5 percent earlier today.
"In today's difficult economic environment, Gen-Probe's strong balance
sheet and cash flow enable us to access external liquidity more
cost-effectively than if we were to sell assets from our own short-term
investment portfolio, which totaled $505 million at year-end and currently
yields 2.9% on an after-tax basis," said Herm Rosenman, the Company's senior
vice president, finance, and chief financial officer.
About Gen-Probe
Gen-Probe Incorporated is a global leader in the development, manufacture
and marketing of rapid, accurate and cost-effective nucleic acid tests (NATs)
that are used primarily to diagnose human diseases and screen donated human
blood. Gen-Probe has more than 25 years of NAT expertise, and received the
2004 National Medal of Technology, America's highest honor for technological
innovation, for developing NAT assays for blood screening. Gen-Probe is
headquartered in San Diego and employs approximately 1,000 people. For more
information, go to www.gen-probe.com.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements in this press release relating to expectations, beliefs,
plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not
historical facts and are forward-looking statements. These statements are
often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as
believe, will, expect, anticipate, estimate, intend, plan and would. For
example, statements regarding future uses of the credit line are
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of
performance. They involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
assumptions that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or
achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Some of
these risks include, but are not limited to, (i) the risk that LIBOR will
increase; (ii) the risk that yields on our current short-term investment
portfolio will fall; (iii) the risk that we will default on the credit line;
and (iv) the risk that we will not close our pending Tepnel acquisition. For
additional information about risks and uncertainties we face and a discussion
of our financial statements and footnotes, see documents we file with the SEC,
including our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and all subsequent
periodic reports. We assume no obligation and expressly disclaim any duty to
update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the
date of this news release or to reflect the occurrence of subsequent events.
Contact:
Michael Watts
Vice president, investor relations and
corporate communications
858-410-8673
SOURCE Gen-Probe Incorporated
03/02/2009
CONTACT: Michael Watts, Vice president, investor relations and corporate
communications of Gen-Probe Incorporated, +1-858-410-8673/
Web Site: http://www.gen-probe.com
(GPRO)
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