Spanish incumbent Telefonica has completed a £3.4bn (US$5.3bn) refinancing of loans used to acquire O2 in 2005.
A Telefonica spokeswoman said that the operation involved 37 financial institutions, although she would not reveal their identities.
She…
Spanish incumbent Telefonica has completed a £3.4bn (US$5.3bn) refinancing of loans used to acquire O2 in 2005.
A Telefonica spokeswoman said that the operation involved 37 financial institutions, although she would not reveal their identities.
She added that the refinancing was split into two parts: a £1.3bn (US$2bn) tranche maturing in December 2015 and a £2.1bn (US$3.3bn) tranche maturing in December 2017.
Reuters reported that the £1.3bn is a revolving credit facility and the £2.1bn is a forward-start facility, but Telefonica would not comment on this.
Carlos Winzer, a telecoms specialist at Moody’s, said that the ratings agency, which recently put Telefonica on a negative outlook, was not concerned about the company’s ability to refinance debt.
“What we’re more concerned about is their ability to continue to reduce debt and the operating performance in the domestic market,” Winzer said, noting the macroeconomic problems in the Spanish market.
Moody’s rating on the senior unsecured debt of Telefonica is Baa1.
