Navistar plans private offering of $200M notes

Lisle-based commercial truck and engine maker Navistar said Monday that it is planning a private offering of $200 million senior subordinated convertible notes due 2018.

The company is giving the initial buyers an option to buy up to an additional $30 million convertible notes.

Navistar International Corp. plans to use the offering's net proceeds, along with $270 million in borrowings, for general corporate purposes such as funding capital expenditures and buying back part of its outstanding senior subordinated convertible notes due 2014.

Navistar also disclosed in a regulatory filing that it secured almost 5,900 Class 6-8 truck orders in September. This made September its biggest order receipt month since December 2011. The September orders also include more than 2,100 Class 6/7 trucks with the Cummins ISB 6.7 liter engine.

Last month Navistar reported that it lost money in its third quarter as weak demand for big trucks dragged down its North American operations. The company also said that it was starting job cuts that would affect about 500 workers.

Navistar shares finished at $38.37 on Friday. They are near the high end of their 52-week range of $18.17 last October to $39.79 in mid-September.