Jan 8, 2009 : Level 3 Refinances Debt, Repays $123.8m

📅 January 8, 2009 - January 8, 2009 -- Keeping its head above water amidst looming debt that threatens to push it into bankruptcy, optical communications services provider Level 3 Communications (level3.com) has paid back $123.8 million of notes held by investors last week, the last portion of a series of debt repayments launched in November 2008.

All in all, Level 3 repaid $460 million of the $1.14 billion of investor-held debt scheduled to be repaid in 2009 and 2010, easing pressure on Level 3's cash flow, according to Denver Business Journal reports.

Freed from the weight of debt, Level 3's stock prices have been rising, having opened the year at 71 cents per share and climbing to as high as $1.32 in its first five days of trading in 2009. Standard & Poor even upgraded its corporate credit rating to B- from its dismal "selective default" rating issued in late December.

While this news is cause for optimism for the troubled network operator, Bloomberg notes that investors will not soon forget that Level 3's shares dropped 79 percent in 2008.