UPDATE:CIT Debt-Swap Talks Bring Up Costly Typo;Tweaks Seen

Negotiations on changes to CIT Group Inc.'s (CIT) sweeping debt exchange went down to the wire, as advisors to the commercial lender's steering committee of bondholders and some aggrieved investors worked into the early hours of Friday to hammer out the details.

An announcement on the amendments to the exchange offer or a pre-packaged bankruptcy plan is expected later Friday and could come after the close of business, according to one person familiar with the situation.

CIT spokesman Tim Lynch declined to officially comment on the discussions, the proposed changes or timing of the announcement. The aim of the debt exchange, announced Oct. 1, is to get holders of about $31 billion in bonds to cut this debt by at least $5.7 billion and to extend debt maturities. At the same time, CIT is asking bondholders to vote on a pre-packaged bankruptcy plan.

Holders of CIT's longer-dated subordinated bonds have been particularly vocal in their dissatisfaction with the original offer. One bondholder said "typos" in the original offering memorandum, which came to light late Thursday night, threatened to stymie negotiations with owners of CIT's longer-dated junior subordinated bonds.

One of the mistakes under discussion concerned how much equity in the restructured entity owners of CIT's 6.10% junior subordinated notes due March 15, 2067, would receive in the pre-packaged bankruptcy plan.

Under the exchange, owners of CIT's bonds would get new secured debt worth as much as 90 cents on the dollar if they currently own bonds that mature this year, but would end up with less new debt and more equity if they own bonds maturing later.

The sliding-scale ratio of debt to equity offered to bondholders under the plan is of a particular concern to holders of CIT's long-dated 12.00% subordinated bonds due Dec. 18, 2018, as well as owners of the junior subordinated notes. Owners of this debt aren't being offered any new debt in the exchange offer and only a small amount of new shares in the restructured entity.

Holders of both CIT's junior and senior subordinated bonds are likely to get more of the equity under the expected changes.

But the sticking point is how much equity was offered to holders of the junior subordinated bonds in the first place. There was a discrepancy of one-tenth of a percentage point in the offer documents: On page C-15 of the offering memorandum, holders of the junior subordinated are offered 0.8% of the equity, while on pages 19 and 143, they are offered 0.9%.

The difference could be worth as much as $10 million to some holders of these bonds, depending on how they value the company, according to the bondholder.

Jeffrey Werbalowsky, chief executive of Houlihan Lokey, an adviser to the committee representing the bondholder steering committee, didn't return a call seeking comment.

Changes to the terms offered to owners of CIT's long-term subordinated debt are not the only amendments expected, the person familiar with the situation said. The person described the discussions with these bondholders as just "one element," adding that there are "other notable moving parts." It remained unclear what other changes the company intended to make. A second person familiar with the situation played down the extent of the changes, describing them as "very much around the edges".

As things stand, investors have until 11:59 p.m. EDT on Oct. 29 to tender their bonds under the restructuring plan that was orchestrated by some members of the bondholders' steering committee - Oaktree Capital Management, Centerbridge Partners and Capital Research & Management - in consultation with CIT management.

CIT bonds are mostly lower Friday, while the cost of protecting this debt against a default continues to suggest that investors aren't betting that CIT manages to restructure out of court.

CIT's shares were at $1.11, down 5.93% on the day.

-By Kate Haywood, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2218; [e-mail]

(Mike Spector from the Wall Street Journal contributed to this report)