Charter Communications has detailed a raft of debt financing transactions that will raise a total of US$4.6bn for the US cableco.
It is issuing US$1bn senior unsecured 11-year notes in a public offering.
BofA Merrill Lynch is the lead bookrunning…
Charter Communications has detailed a raft of debt financing transactions that will raise a total of US$4.6bn for the US cableco.
It is issuing US$1bn senior unsecured 11-year notes in a public offering.
BofA Merrill Lynch is the lead bookrunning manager for the sale, which will come through subsidiaries CCO Holdings, LLC and CCO Holdings Capital Corp.
Proceeds will be used to redeem its outstanding 7.875% senior notes due 2018.
Charter has also secured a US$1.2bn term loan F due 2021 to refinance US$527m term loan C due 2016 and US$744m term loan D due 2019.
It is also looking to refinance its US$741m term loan A with a US$750m term loan A-1, set to be due in 2018 and priced at par with a coupon of LIBOR plus 200 basis points.
Charter is seeking to increase the size of its revolving credit facility by US$150m to US$1.3bn, and extend its maturity to 2018. It predicts this will price at LIBOR plus 200 basis points for what is drawn and a 30 basis point commitment fee what it is yet to draw.
Lastly, a new US$1.5bn term loan E facility was syndicated in connection with its amended and restated credit agreement, due to mature in 2020. Pricing on the term loan E was set at LIBOR plus 225 basis points, with a 75 bps LIBOR floor.
It will put the proceeds towards its US$1.625bn acquisition of Optimum West, previously Bresnan Broadband, from Cablevision Systems Corporation.
Alongside bookrunning the bond offering, BofA Merrill Lynch will also act as joint bookrunner, joint lead arranger and administrative agent for the revolving credit facility and term loan A transactions. Credit Suisse was the joint bookrunner and joint lead arranger for term loan E and will act in the same capacities for term loan F.
Charter last hit the debt markets at the end of February raising US$1bn in a senior secured two-tranche issue.
In March John Malone-controlled Liberty Media has bought a 27.3% stake in Charter for US$2.62bn from some of its private equity owners. As part of that deal Malone agreed to not increase Liberty’s stake in Charter above 35% until January 2016, and 39.99% thereafter.
For 2012 Charter reported revenues of US$7.5bn, EBITDA of US$2.7bn and debts of US$12.9bn. It offers internet, fixed-line telephony and cable TV and has 5.2 million residential and business customers in 25 states.
