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Briefs: DineEquity, LTC, Stratolaunch

DineEquity Inc. announced Tuesday it has completed a previously announced refinancing for $1.4 billion of debt and credit, as the company looks to take advantage of low interest rates. The Glendale operator of Applebee’s and IHOP restaurant chains entered into a purchase agreement on $1.3 billion of debt that will bear interest at 4.28 percent versus its previous rate of 9.5 percent on the majority of the debt. The company expects to save $50 million in annual interest payments. “The new debt structure provides for increased financial flexibility and leverages our ability to consistently generate strong, stable free cash flow,” said Chief Executive Julia A. Stewart, in a statement. The company said it will use the funds to refinance about $761 million of senior notes and $464 of a senior secured credit facility. Remaining proceeds will be used for transaction costs associated with the refinancing. Shares closed down 70 cents, or nearly 1 percent, to $80.89 on the New York Stock Exchange. LTC Properties Inc. announced Wednesday a monthly cash dividend on its common stock for the fourth quarter of 2014. The Westlake Village real estate investment trust focused on medical properties declared a dividend of 17 cents a share, payable on Oct. 31, Nov. 28 and Dec. 31 to stockholders of record as of Oct. 23, Nov. 20 and Dec. 23, respectively. LTC had 224 investments located in 29 states, including 101 skilled nursing facilities and 104 assisted living homes as of June 30. Shares closed up 9 cents, or a fraction of a percent, to $36.98 on the New York Stock Exchange. Sierra Nevada Corp. has developed a scaled-down version of its Dream Chaser spacecraft for use by Stratolaunch Systems Corp., the Mojave aerospace company founded by billionaire Paul Allen. The spaceflight system designed for Stratolaunch, announced on Tuesday, can carry a crew of three astronauts to low-earth orbit destinations such as the International Space Station. The craft can also be tailored for non-crew missions such as light cargo transportation and point-to-point transportation. “Combining a scaled version of the Dream Chaser with the Stratolaunch air launch system could provide a highly responsive capability with the potential to reach a variety of (low-earth orbit) destinations and return astronauts or payloads to a U.S. runway within 24 hours,” Chuck Beames, executive director for Stratolaunch Systems, said in a prepared statement. Stratolaunch, based in Huntsville, Ala., is building its launch vehicle – an airplane powered by six 747 engines and a wingspan the length of a football field – in a massive hangar at the Mojave Air & Space Port north of Lancaster. The company is partnering with Scaled Composites, also in Mojave, to construct the plane. The smaller version of the Dream Chaser spacecraft would be carried by a launch vehicle to a high altitude and then launched for space.

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