USG Plans $300 mil. debt sale

USG Corp., the largest U.S. maker of gypsum wallboard, plans to sell $300 million of senior unsecured notes, the company said today in a statement distributed by Business Wire.

Proceeds may be used for general corporate purposes, including the repayment of debt, working capital, capital expenditures and acquisitions, according to the statement.

USG has lost money for 12 consecutive quarters dating back to 2007. Annualized U.S. housing starts fell to a low of 477,000 in April 2009 from a record 2.27 million in January 2006, cutting demand for wallboard.

The company has closed factories and borrowed to build cash reserves to weather the housing slump, including selling $300 million of convertible debt to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in 2008. Berkshire is USG's largest shareholder, owning 17 percent of shares as of June 30, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

USG said Sept. 27 that James S. Metcalf will take over as chief executive officer from William C. Foote on Jan. 1. The Chicago-based company is rated Caa1 by Moody's Investors Service and B+ by Standard & Poor's.