Kansas City, Mo., July 10, 2002 -- Black & Veatch Corp. recently announced a new $175 million credit facility which was led by Harris Trust & Savings Bank.
The new credit facility will provide funding for the company to issue letters of credit in support of projects and borrow short-term funds.
"Black & Veatch has consistently demonstrated stronger performance over the past three years, making them a preferred choice for investors," said Jim Owen, Vice President of Harris Trust & Savings Bank, Administrative Agent for the credit facility, which operates under the name Harris Nesbitt.
"They continue to reap the benefits of improved diversification, risk management and project selection, which has led to increased profitability and growth." The goal for the new credit facility was $175 million and was oversubscribed at $185 million; however, the company chose to maintain the same $175 million level of the previous credit facility.
"It is very gratifying to get such a positive response for our new credit facility, despite tight market conditions and slowing economic trends," said Karen Daniel, Chief Financial Officer of Black & Veatch. "Our new bank group is knowledgeable about our engineering and construction business and will provide us with additional services."
"We anticipate that an increasing percent of our business will come from international markets in the coming years, and are pleased to have a good mixture of domestic and international banks in our credit facility," stated Daniel.
According to Len C. Rodman, Chairman, President and CEO of Black & Veatch, "The new credit facility will allow us to continue our growth in the engineering and consulting industry. We will be evaluating and pursuing some new opportunities as we implement our strategic initiatives toward the company's vision of Building a World of Difference and leading the industry in value creation for our clients and shareholders."
The new credit facility went into effect June 26, 2002, for a three-year term.
About Black & Veatch
Black & Veatch Corporation is a global engineering, construction and consulting company specializing in infrastructure development in the fields of energy, water and information.
Founded in 1915, Black & Veatch serves its clients with conceptual and preliminary engineering services, engineering design, procurement, construction, financial management, asset management, information technology, environmental, security design and consulting, and management consulting services.
Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., the employee-owned company has more than 90 offices worldwide. Black & Veatch is ranked 80th on the Forbes "500 Largest Private Companies in the U.S." listing for 2001. The company's Web site address is www.bv.com.
