H&E Equipment plans debt sell

BATON ROUGE — H&E Equipment Services Inc., a Baton Rouge-based construction machinery provider, plans to sell $480 million in debt to investors.

The company says H&E will use the proceeds to retire existing debt and pay a special, one-time cash dividend of $246 million, or roughly $7 per share.

The Advocate reports the company's board of directors must approve the dividend, its amount and the date it will be paid.

H&E had borrowed $250 million through the sale of senior notes carrying an interest rate of 8.375 percent. Those notes are due in 2016. The company is offering $1,031.67 for every $1,000 in principal on the notes. The deadline to accept the offer is 4 p.m. Aug. 17.