The list of companies announcing special fiscal cliff-inspired dividend payouts just keeps getting longer. On Monday after the close of trading, air medical-evac specialist Air Methods (AIRM) announced that on Dec. 28, it will pay a special $7 dividend to shareholders of record effective Dec. 20.
Air Methods noted in an SEC filing that it intends to use "available cash" to fund the dividend, which at today's share count should cost the company about $90 million. Once the cash runs out (Air Methods actually has only about $3.8 million in the bank), management says it will add a new loan facility to its existing credit facility to enable taking out loans of up to $100 million.
So far, Air Methods is one of the few companies, out of the many announcing special dividends so far this month, that came out in its SEC filing and specifically cited "uncertainty in the tax code for 2013" as a primary motivation, when explaining why it's paying a big dividend in 2012.
Shares of the company closed 3.2% higher Tuesday.
