PacifiCare to Sell Debt Securities, Obtain Loan

Managed care provider PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. said Monday that it plans to sell $500 million in debt securities in a private transaction and that a group of lenders is providing a new $500-million credit arrangement.

The Santa Ana company, which operates the nation’s largest Medicare health maintenance organization, said in a press release that the proceeds from the offering and the credit will be used to repurchase $100 million of debt securities due 2003 and to repay existing loans.

The credit arrangement consists of a $350-million loan and a $150-million line of credit, which the company said it doesn’t expect to use immediately. The notes, which mature in 2011, have not been registered under securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States unless they are registered or exempted by regulators, the company said.

PacifiCare stock lost 35 cents Monday to close at $16.03 a share on Nasdaq.