Level 3 Seeks to Refinance Tranche A Term Loan

BROOMFIELD, Colo., Aug. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) today announced that Level 3 Financing, Inc., its wholly owned subsidiary ("Level 3 Financing"),  is currently seeking to refinance its existing $1.4 billion senior secured Tranche A Term Loan under its existing senior secured credit facility with new senior secured tranches. In connection with that refinancing, Level 3 Financing is also seeking consents to amend the existing senior secured credit facility to, among other things, allow the refinancing. 

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Level 3 Financing also has in place two interest rate swap agreements maturing in early 2014 that effectively hedge the interest rate on a portion of the Tranche A Term Loan that Level 3 Financing is seeking to refinance. As a result of the proposed refinancing, Level 3 expects that the swap agreements would become "ineffective" under generally accepted accounting principles and that Level 3 would recognize a non-cash loss effective on the closing of the Tranche A Term Loan refinancing of approximately $66 million (excluding accrued interest) in the third quarter of 2012. Going forward, Level 3 would reflect the change in fair value of the swap agreements in "Other Income" in its Consolidated Statement of Operations on a quarterly basis until their maturity in early 2014.

About Level 3 Communications
Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) provides local, national and global communications services to enterprise, government and carrier customers. Level 3's comprehensive portfolio of secure, managed solutions includes fiber and infrastructure solutions; IP-based voice and data communications; wide-area Ethernet services; video and content distribution; data center and cloud-based solutions. Level 3 serves customers in more than 450 markets in 45 countries over a global services platform anchored by owned fiber networks on three continents and connected by extensive undersea facilities. Level 3 services are provided by subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc.  For more information, visit www.level3.com.

Website Access to Company Information
Level 3 maintains a corporate website at www.level3.com, and you can find additional information about the company through the Investors pages on that website at http://lvlt.client.shareholder.com/.  Level 3 uses its website as a channel of distribution of important information about the company. Level 3 routinely posts financial and other important information regarding the company and its business, financial condition and operations on the Investor Relations web pages.

Visitors to the Investors Relations web pages can view and print copies of Level 3's SEC filings, including periodic and current reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, as soon as reasonably practicable after those filings are made with the SEC.

Copies of the charters for each of the Audit, Compensation and Nominating and Governance committees of Level 3's Board of Directors, its Corporate Governance Guidelines, Code of Ethics, press releases and analysts and investor conference presentations are all available through the Investor Relations web pages.

Please note that the information contained on any of Level 3's web sites is not incorporated by reference in, or considered to be a part of, any document unless expressly incorporated by reference in that document.

Forward-Looking Statement

Some statements made in this press release are forward-looking in nature and are based on management's current expectations or beliefs. These forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside Level 3's control, which could cause actual events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements. Important factors that could prevent Level 3 from achieving its stated goals include, but are not limited to, the company's ability to: successfully integrate the Global Crossing acquisition or otherwise realize the anticipated benefits thereof; manage risks associated with continued uncertainty in the global economy; obtain additional financing, particularly in the event of disruptions in the financial markets; manage continued or accelerated decreases in market pricing for communications services; maintain and increase traffic on its network; develop and maintain effective business support systems; manage system and network failures or disruptions; develop new services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; adapt to rapid technological changes that could adversely affect the company's competitiveness; defend intellectual property and proprietary rights; obtain capacity for its network from other providers and interconnect its network with other networks on favorable terms; attract and retain qualified management and other personnel; successfully integrate future acquisitions; effectively manage political, legal, regulatory, foreign currency and other risks it is exposed to due to its substantial international operations; mitigate its exposure to contingent liabilities; and meet all of the terms and conditions of its debt obligations. Additional information concerning these and other important factors can be found within Level 3's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this press release should be evaluated in light of these important factors. Level 3 is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any such obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Contact Information

SOURCE Level 3 Communications, Corporate Communications

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