Shares jump on credit deal

Tuesday, July 30, 2002 | 11:15 a.m.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Sprint Corp. shares rose as much as 23 percent today after the third-biggest U.S. long-distance telephone company said it got commitments for $1.5 billion in new bank loans.

The loans replace a $2 billion credit line that would have expired in August 2003, the company said in a statement. Sprint, the main local phone company in Las Vegas, has no plans to draw against the new, unsecured bank line.

The company's shares tumbled as much as 26 percent Friday on concern it may lack cash to fund operations after sales at its main phone unit dropped for six straight quarters.

Sprint shares rose $1.15 to $8.45 at 1:17 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

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