Conseco, a company that sells life insurance, annuities and consumer loans, said Friday that it would use 30-day grace period clauses in note documents to postpone interest payments on some of its notes. The company also warned that it might take other radical steps to restructure its debt.
The New York Stock Exchange has suspended trading of Conseco securities “in view of the Aug. 9, 2002, announcement regarding the status of payment of interest on its two senior note issues, in addition to its broader ongoing financial restructuring efforts,” the exchange says in a statement about the suspension. “In addition, the exchange noted the abnormally low selling price of the company’s common stock, which closed at $0.34 on August 8, 2002.”