US towerco Crown Castle has said that its subsidiary Crown Castle Operating Company (CCOC) is seeking to refinance its existing credit facility with a new US$3.1bn senior credit facility.
In a statement, Crown Castle said that the new facility is…
US towerco Crown Castle has said that its subsidiary Crown Castle Operating Company (CCOC) is seeking to refinance its existing credit facility with a new US$3.1bn senior credit facility.
In a statement, Crown Castle said that the new facility is expected to be composed of a US$1bn senior secured revolver, a US$500m delayed-draw senior secured loan facility and a separate US$1.6bn senior secured loan facility.
The revolver and US$500m loan will mature five years after the facility’s closing date. The US$1.6bn loan will mature seven years after this closing date.
Crown Castle said that CCOC is in the process of seeking commitments from a group of lenders for the new US$3.1bn senior credit facility.
It added that the new facility is subject to organising loan documentation and other closing conditions. It expects the new facility will be in place before the end of Q1 2012.
The net proceeds of the new facility are expected to be used to repay CCOC’s existing revolver, its existing term loan facility and to fund its US$1bn acquisition of NextG Networks, the provider of outdoor distributed antenna systems.
US$251m of the existing revolver and US$619m of the existing loan facility are currently outstanding.
Crown Castle said that the balance of proceeds would be available for general corporate purposes, including “acquisitions permitted under the terms of the New Facility and purchases of shares of common stock of Crown Castle”.
Moody’s gave the new credit facility a Ba3 rating. Its corporate family rating for Crown Castle is Ba2.
Crown Castle announced its agreement to acquire NextG Networks in December. It said then that it expects the deal to be completed in Q2 2012.
