Polish mobile operator Polkomtel is in talks with banks about refinancing zloty-denominated loans used to support its 2011 buyout, CFO Joanna Nieckarz has said.
At a press conference on the company’s 2012 results, Nieckarz said different options for…
Polish mobile operator Polkomtel is in talks with banks about refinancing zloty-denominated loans used to support its 2011 buyout, CFO Joanna Nieckarz has said.
At a press conference on the company’s 2012 results, Nieckarz said different options for the refinancing are being considered, with an agreement expected within two to four months.
Last week, Euroweek reported Polkomtel, which operates under the brand name Plus, had asked banks for proposals for refinancing a US$1.76bn loan obtained to support media tycoon Zygmunt Solarz-Zak’s takeover of the company.
Solarz-Zak’s Spartan Capital Holdings finalised its acquisition of Polkomtel for PLN18.1bn (US$5.6bn) in November 2011. Credit Agricole and Deutsche Bank were global coordinators of the US$4.35bn loan package to support the buyout.
In January 2012, Polkomtel placed US$1.2bn in corporate bonds and, the following month, sold US$201m in PIK notes to refinance debt.
Nieckarz said the company paid back more than PLN1bn (US$310.9m) of its credit facility last year, stressing that “debt reduction is our priority”.
However, she said the company will not refinance bonds within the next two years as the cost of doing so would be too high.
Polkomtel reported revenues of PLN7.133bn (US$2.2bn) for 2012, down from PLN7.312 (US$2.3bn) in 2011. The company stated its EBITDA for the year, which stood at PLN2.795bn (US$869m) – down from PLN2.827 (US$879m) the previous year – was the highest of all local mobile operators. It also lauded its EBITDA margin of 39.2% as the highest in the company’s history.
