SiliconBeat

Agilent Technologies disclosed on Monday that it had received a notice from Merrill Lynch requiring the company to repay $1.5 billion three years ahead of schedule.

The notice does not signal a liquidity crisis at Agilent, which has $3 billion in restricted and unrestricted cash on hand, according to Rodney Gonsalves, an Agilent spokesman. However, the notice marks one of the first signals that the broader credit crunch
is beginning to be felt by Silicon Valley companies.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, Agilent said it has until July to repay the money.

Gonsalves said the company originally borrowed the money from a third-party, which was backed by Merrill Lynch. However, the lender could no longer cover the loan, due to problems in the short-term credit markets. That meant that Merrill had to step in, triggering the
notice to repay.

Gonsalves said Agilent must decide whether to repay or renegotiate the terms.

In either case, the company doesn’t expect the issue to impact operations. A $2 billion share repurchase plan will continue, Gonsalves said.

For now, Fitch has reaffirmed the company’s debt rating.