France’s Alcatel-Lucent has raised its senior-secured credit facilities underwritten by Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs from €1.6bn to about €2bn (US$2.7bn), citing strong investor demand.
Announcing the closing of the transaction, the telecoms…
France’s Alcatel-Lucent has raised its senior-secured credit facilities underwritten by Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs from €1.6bn to about €2bn (US$2.7bn), citing strong investor demand.
Announcing the closing of the transaction, the telecoms equipment maker said there was an average decrease in pricing of about 90 basis points during the syndication process and a decrease in the original discount of 150 basis points across the facilities.
As widely predicted, the financial covenant on the facilities has been removed and the call protection on the term loan tranches reduced.
Alcatel-Lucent reiterated that the proceeds will be used to refinance existing debt, for working capital and general corporate purposes.
Executing a restructuring plan designed to restore profitability, the company announced in mid-December that it had entered into commitments with Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs for €1.61bn in senior-secured credit facilities. Alcatel-Lucent has had to offer important assets as collateral, including the vast majority of its patents portfolio and a significant section of its US operating businesses to secure the refinancing.
In a January presentation to investors, Alcatel-Lucent said the refinancing package would consist of a US$500m asset sale facility and US$1.275bn and €250m senior-secured term loans. The company also confirmed it is hoping to raise €1bn to €1.5bn from the divestment of non-core assets.