Seeking to reassure investors and credit rating agencies, Mirant on Thursday said that its liquidity position is strong, standing at approximately $1.7 billion. The company noted that the figure includes proceeds from its recently completed $370 million convertible securities offering.

“We have been successful in executing an aggressive, disciplined plan to improve liquidity and strengthen Mirant’s balance sheet,” said Marce Fuller, CEO of Mirant. “This plan is working.”

In an effort to shore-up its liquidity position, Mirant has undertaken a number of initiatives since Dec. 2001, including:

In addition, Mirant said it expects during the third quarter to meet or exceed its goal of realizing $1.6 billion through asset sales.

Speaking on the company’s recent convertible offering, Fuller said, “This offering bolstered our already strong liquidity position. Given the increasingly volatile nature of the financial markets, it is crucial that companies have sufficient liquidity.” Mirant announced the offering on July 1. The company said it intends to exercise the term-out provision in its $1.125 billion corporate revolver, thereby converting it to a one-year loan maturing in July 2003.

“Although we expect the term-out to be exercised soon, we remain optimistic that we will ultimately complete the renewal of our bank revolver,” Fuller said. “Of course, we also have the flexibility to leave the current loan in place. Regardless of which course of action we take, we retain an appropriate level of liquidity and flexibility. We also have the advantage of other options. These could include selling additional assets, reducing future capital requirements related to the company’s construction program, and reducing the collateral used for our marketing activities.”

Mirant also announced that KPMG has completed a review of the company’s first quarter financial statements including its major accounting policies and procedures. Based on the results, the company said it does not anticipate a restatement of its first quarter financials.

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