OKLAHOMA CITY, Aug. 25, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Dobson Communications Corporation (Nasdaq:DCEL) announced today that three of its senior executives had transferred to the Company, in a non-cash transaction, an aggregate of approximately 950,300 shares of Dobson common stock to repay in full the principal and interest that was due on loans that they had obtained from the Company in 2001.
The loans, which were scheduled to mature in December 2003, were previously disclosed in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The executives filed Form 4 reports with the SEC today to report that the stock had been transferred to the Company. Earlier this year, Dobson's board of directors voted that the Company, through an authorized stock repurchase program, would allow the executive officers to transfer sufficient stock in consideration for principal and interest owed on the loans, basing the transfers on the five-day average closing price of Dobson's Class A common stock, within a permitted window for executive stock transactions. The stock transfers were completed August 21, 2003, based on the five-day average closing price of $7.02 per share.
The loans were originally approved for the senior executives so that they could meet alternative minimum tax obligations related to the exercise of Dobson stock options. No additional loans have been made since 2001.
Dobson Communications is a leading provider of wireless phone services to rural markets in the United States. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, the Company owns or manages wireless operations in 16 states. For additional information on the Company and its operations, please visit its Web site at www.dobson.net.