Mattel said its earnings were so strong that the company was able to retire $162 million in high-cost debt during 1991.

Efforts to refinance high-cost debt will also be a feature of the tax-exempt municipal bond market this year.

It would clear the company to pursue licensing of Shoreham or to refinance its high-cost debt.

The company said proceeds would be used in part to repay high-cost debt.

Replacing high-cost debt with tax-free debt and other savings would cut utility rates by perhaps 12 percent.

"And we are anticipating that as the company returns to financial health, we would refinance our high-cost debt at lower interest rates."

Such activism by officers is rare, however; the military has traditionally tried to address high-cost debt through financial literacy classes.

Now companies have time to come up with alternative strategies to retire high-cost debt.

That move yielded $130 million, which Mr. Silverman used to pay down the high-cost debt.

It paid off about $1 billion in high-cost debt in the third quarter, the company said.