Incumbent operator Bell Canada has issued C$1bn medium term notes to repay debt and to put towards the acquisition of French Canadian broadcaster Astral Media.
The seven-year paper priced at C$99.925, has a fixed interest rate of 3.25%, and will yield…
Incumbent operator Bell Canada has issued C$1bn medium term notes to repay debt and to put towards the acquisition of French Canadian broadcaster Astral Media.
The seven-year paper priced at C$99.925, has a fixed interest rate of 3.25%, and will yield 3.262% per annum.
CIBC World Markets, National Bank Financial and Scotia Capital are joint lead agents and bookrunners on the public offering.
S&P rated the notes BBB+, Moody’s assigned Baa1 while Canadian ratings agency DBRS graded the paper A.
The debentures will rank pari passu alongside Bell’s other unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness and the offering will close on 17 June.
Bell has filed a shelf prospectus renewing its medium note programme. Under the plan Bell will issue C$4bn in notes over the next 25 months.
The programme was renewed “so as to continue to provide Bell with financial flexibility and efficient access to the Canadian and US capital markets,” the Montreal-based operator said in a statement. Bell last visited the debt markets in March when it sold C$1bn 10-year debentures.
Bell offers quad play services across Canada and also has a number of media assets. Its agreed acquisition of Astral Media, which will in part be funded by the offering, has faced intense regulatory scrutiny and a decision by the regulator is still pending.
Last year Bell generated C$19.9bn (US$19.4bn) revenues, EBITDA of C$7.9bn (US$7.7bn) and reported net debt of C$17.6bn (US$17.2bn).
