CAIS INTERNET SECURES $19.5 MILLION BRIDGE
LOAN
Bridge Financing, Led by Affiliate of KKR,
Funds Company's Operations Until Attainment
of Permanent Equity and Debt Financing, Targeted
for Q4 2001
WASHINGTON, July 9, 2001 --
CAIS Internet, Inc. (Nasdaq:CAIS), a provider
of broadband access and bundled data services
to businesses and hotels nationwide, today announced
that it has entered into a bridge loan to provide
up to $19.5 million, led by CII Ventures II
LLC, an affiliate of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
& Co. (KKR). Other lenders include CAIS
Internet founder Ulysses G. Auger, II and R.
Theodore Ammon, a major shareholder in the Company.
CAIS, which will be renamed Ardent Communications
upon shareholder approval at its annual meeting
in late July, will use proceeds from this loan
to fund the Company's operations until it secures
permanent equity and debt financing, which it
plans to obtain in the fourth quarter of 2001.
"The securing of this bridge loan confirms
the support its primary investors, including
KKR, have for the Company's new management team
and its continuing execution of the Company's
new ISP-centric business plan," said Michael
Lee, President and CEO of CAIS. "To date
we have dramatically improved our balance sheet,
redirected the Company to an ISP business model,
significantly reduced our burn rate and rapidly
expanded our customer base, all crucial elements
in ensuring the long term success of the Company."
------------------
CAIS Internet, Inc. (Nasdaq:CAIS)
is a nationwide supplier of broadband Internet
access solutions and provides price competitive
high speed Internet services to businesses in
29 Points of Presence (serving 38 metro areas)
across the nation utilizing a tier-one, nationwide
Internet network and several proprietary technologies.
The Company offers always-on, broadband Internet
access to its customers through its digital
subscriber line (DSL) service, and through T-1,
DS-3 and other bandwidth connections in major
metropolitan areas throughout the U.S. Additionally,
the Company provides bundled data services including
Web hosting, colocation services and other valueadded
managed data services. Finally, the Company
also provides service to certain hotel properties
utilizing installed high speed Internet service
and business centers. The Company uses its unmanned
business centers and Internet kiosks to deliver
broadband Internet access and content to hotels
and public venues, such as airports, retail
centers, and cruise ships.
CAIS Internet is headquartered
in Washington, DC and operates a Cisco-powered,
coast-to-coast OC-12 clear-channel network,
and peers with public and private partners,
and at national exchange points. This release
contains statements relating to CAIS's future
expectations and business strategies or other
"forward-looking" information. Those
statements are subject to known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially
from those contemplated by the statements. Important
factors that may cause actual results to differ
from projections include, among others: changes
in business and market conditions; changes in
the Internet services industry and the general
economy; our limited operating history; our
ability to manage rapid growth; our ability
to enter into joint ventures and other strategic
relationships with companies on terms acceptable
to us; access to additional capital; and the
impact of computer and related problems that
may arise from our operations.
# # #
CONTACT:
Peter Benedict
CAIS Internet
703-247-6328
p.benedict@cais.com
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