The US$23.3bn takeover of Virgin Media by Liberty Global (LGI) will be part-financed by up to US$4.3bn in senior loans and US$3.7bn in senior notes, according to an SEC filing.
The US$4.3bn senior credit facility will comprise a £375m (US$607m)…
The US$23.3bn takeover of Virgin Media by Liberty Global (LGI) will be part-financed by up to US$4.3bn in senior loans and US$3.7bn in senior notes, according to an SEC filing.
The US$4.3bn senior credit facility will comprise a £375m (US$607m) sterling-denominated term loan A, a £600m (US$971m) sterling-denominated term loan B and a US$2.76bn (£1.75bn) US dollar-denominated term loan B. In addition, the senior credit facility provides for a £250m (US$405m) revolving credit facility.
Notes are being issued in both sterling and dollars to the tune of US$2.8bn (£1.78bn) in senior secured notes and US$900m (£573m) in senior notes.
Liberty said it has mandated Credit Suisse as a global co-ordinator, and reportedly Barclays, BNP Paribas, BofA Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank are the joint bookrunners for the bond. The offering commenced yesterday.
Liberty can also finance the Virgin purchase with its £1.5bn (US$2.4bn) senior secured bridge facility and its £567m (US$918m) senior notes facility.
Liberty and Virgin expect the merger to close in Q2, following regulatory and shareholder approvals.
LionTree Advisors is Liberty’s lead financial adviser, with Credit Suisse also providing financial advice while acting as sole global coordinator for the debt financing.
Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan are financially advising Virgin Media. Goldman Sachs also acted as corporate broker to Virgin Media.
Meanwhile Virgin Media’s CEO Neil Berkett has said he will step down after the merger is consummated. The executive is reportedly set to receive up to US$85m when the takeover is complete. Liberty, which is planning to move its headquarters to the UK, has said it is yet to find a replacement.
