Qwest mulling multiple financing options

Qwest has staunched most of its financial bleeding, but is still considering a number of alternatives to further reduce its debt, said Oren Shaffer, vice chairman and CFO.

Speaking in New York at a meeting with analysts, Shaffer said the company’s problems are not complex and that it would continue to “pull all the levers possible.”

In the few months that Shaffer and CEO Richard Notebaert have been with the company, Qwest has announced the sale of its QwestDex directory unit for more than $7 billion and made substantial progress on cutting burn, he said. However, given the amount of debt, more needs to be done.

“There’s a pretty finite list of things you can do,” Shaffer said. “In our particular case with the amount of debt we’ve accumulated, we’re not going to deleverage ourselves only from improved operations.”

Among the other options are moving bond maturities out and continuing to sell off assets, which has come down to a relatively simply equation, he said.

“These assets will not only give us income, but they also in most cases stop a cash burn,” said Shaffer.