Verio Inc, the acquisitive internet service provider, says it has agreed to issue $400m worth of 11.25% senior notes due 2008 in a private placement to a number of institutional investors. The Englewood, Colorado-based company will use a portion of the proceeds to cover part of the purchase price in its pending acquisition of web-hosting company Hiway Technologies Inc. The deal, which was restructured last week due to a drop in Verio’s share price since its announcement in July, is set to close during the first quarter of next year. Under the new agreement, Verio will hand over 4.92 million shares and $176m in cash. The rest of the proceeds of the offering will be used to continue its aggressive acquisition efforts and pursue other, undisclosed strategic opportunities.
