Bondholders of South African mobile operator Cell C have agreed to extend the maturity of
€160m (US$214m) of senior secured notes to July 2018.
Cell C said in a statement that all bondholders agreed to extend the 8.625% notes by three years. The…
Bondholders of South African mobile operator Cell C have agreed to extend the maturity of
€160m (US$214m) of senior secured notes to July 2018.
Cell C said in a statement that all bondholders agreed to extend the 8.625% notes by three years. The company had also offered to buy back any notes, at their principal amount, that bondholders would rather cash out than extend. However, no notes were tendered as of the 8 August early deadline.
The operator, South Africa’s third largest mobile player, requested bondholders’ permission for the extension in late July. About €82.7m of this debt is held by parent Saudi Oger, which had already given its consent for the extension, the company said in a statement at the time.
CEO Jose Dos Santos said the move will allow Cell C to “channel equity and cash generated in the business to increase its capacity to continue to grow the company”.
The operator has been facing stiff competition from larger rivals Vodacom and MTN.
However, it claims to have reported year-on-year service revenue growth of 10.5% for the second quarter of the year.
