Berry Petroleum Company (NYSE:BRY) announced today that it has priced an
underwritten public offering of $125 million aggregate principal amount
of senior notes due 2014, which will bear interest at a rate of 10¼% per
year. The notes are being sold at 104.75% of par, which equates to an
effective yield to maturity of approximately 9.0%. Berry expects to
close the sale of the notes on August 14, 2009, subject to the
satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
The notes will be additional notes under an indenture, as supplemented
by a supplemental indenture, pursuant to which Berry issued $325 million
principal amount of 10¼% senior notes due 2014 on May 27, 2009. The
notes and the previously issued $325 million principal amount of notes
will be treated as a single series of debt securities under the
indenture. The offering is being made under Berry’s effective shelf
registration statement as filed today with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC).
Berry intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to reduce
outstanding borrowings under its senior secured revolving credit
facility.
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC is acting as the sole bookrunning manager
for the offering. A prospectus supplement relating to the offering will
be filed with the SEC and may be found on its website at www.sec.gov.
Alternatively, the underwriters will arrange to send you the prospectus
supplement and related base prospectus if you request them by contacting
Wells Fargo Securities at 301 South College Street, 6th Floor,
Charlotte, NC 28202, Attention: High Yield Syndicate, (704) 715-7035.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the
solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these
securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would
be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities
laws of any state. The notes will be offered only by means of a
prospectus, including the prospectus supplement relating to the notes,
meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended.
About Berry Petroleum Company
Berry Petroleum Company is a publicly traded independent oil and gas
production and exploitation company with operations in California, Utah,
Colorado and Texas.
Safe harbor under the “Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995”
Any statements in this news release that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Words
such as “intends,” “expects,” forms of those words and others indicate
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press
release relate to, among other things, the offering of the senior notes,
the amount of notes offered and the use of the net proceeds of the
offering. Information about risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the
forward-looking statements is available in Berry’s filings with the SEC,
including in PART 1, Item 1A. Risk Factors of Berry’s 2008 Form 10-K
filed with the SEC on February 25, 2009 under the heading “Other Factors
Affecting the Company’s Business and Financial Results,” and updated in
the Company’s Form 10-Q filings subsequent to that date, and “Risk
Factors” in the prospectus supplement.
Berry Petroleum Company
Investors and Media
David
Wolf, 1-303-999-4400
Shawn Canaday, 1-303-999-4000
