German cable operator Primacom will soon be taken over by its lenders through a debt-for-equity swap, the Financial Times Deutschland reported.
The move is expected to help the company, which filed for insolvency last June, to cut its debt by about E100m…
German cable operator Primacom will soon be taken over by its lenders through a debt-for-equity swap, the Financial Times Deutschland reported.
The move is expected to help the company, which filed for insolvency last June, to cut its debt by about E100m from E350m, the newspaper wrote.
This report echoes previous rumours in late November, when there were claims that all the shares held by owner Luxembourg-based financial holding company Medfort would be equally split between mezzanine lenders, which include Alcentra, Avenue Capital Group, ING, and Tennenbaum Capital Parners.
At the time, it was also reported that the lenders, who do not have a strategic interest in Primacom, would inject E30m in fresh capital.
One Square Advisors were reportedly exclusive financial advisers to Medfort while Gleiss Lutz Hootz Hirsch and Loyens & Loeff acted as legal advisers on the debt-for-equity swap.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was legal adviser to the mezzanine lenders and Linklaters was legal adviser to the senior lenders.
Primacom became insolvent after missing repayment deadlines on a E29.3m loan in June 2010. Shortly after, the company announced a restructuring, which saw shares in Primacom Management transferred to Medfort. It also secured a E15m credit line with banks.
Early November, rival operator Kabel Deutschland said it was looking to acquire approximately 70,000 TV cable networks from Primacom. TelecomFinance understood that the deal is valued at approximately E10.5m.
Primacom has about one million customers across Germany.
