Poland’s largest media and telecoms group Cyfrowy Polsat (WSE:CPS) has agreed a PLN12.5bn (US$3.32bn) bank financing that will predominantly be used to refinance existing debt at both the parent company and its telecoms subsidiary Polkomtel.
Poland’s largest media and telecoms group Cyfrowy Polsat (WSE:CPS) has agreed a PLN12.5bn (US$3.32bn) bank financing that will predominantly be used to refinance existing debt at both the parent company and its telecoms subsidiary Polkomtel.
The facilities agreement comprises a PLN1.2bn (US$316m) term loan and a PLN300m (US$80m) revolving credit facility via Cyfrowy Polsat, and a PLN10.3bn (US$2.73bn) term loan and PLN700m (US$186m) revolver through Polkomtel.
All the facilities have a five-year maturity beginning 21 September 2015 and bear an interest rate equal to WIBOR plus margin, where the margin is dependent on the company’s leverage ratio.
PKO Bank Polski, Bank Zachodni WBK, ING and Société Générale were global coordinators on the financing. The banking syndicate consisted of more than 20 banks making it the largest ever syndication for a zloty-denominated facility.
Cyfrowy Polsat said that it would use proceeds from its financing to repay a portion of the indebtedness under the senior facilities agreement it secured in April 2014. That agreement is split between a PLN2.5bn (US$663m) five-year term loan and a PLN500m (US$133m) revolver.
Polkomtel will use proceeds from its facilities to fully repay its €542.5m (US$609m) 11.75% high yield notes, due 2020, that were issued by Eileme 2 AB, the entity through which Cyfrowy Polsat indirectly owns Polkomtel. The telco will also use its new borrowings to fully repay its existing facilities agreement.
In April, Cyfrowy Polsat CFO Tomasz Szelag said the company was considering replacing high-yield bonds with debt reflecting current market terms, which may include zloty-denominated loan and domestic bonds.
“Our main target is to simplify the debt structure as well as to optimise its terms and reduce the debt servicing costs, thus giving the group more flexibility in doing business and creating favourable conditions for its future development,” Szelag said.
To that end, Cyfrowy Polsat undertook a PLN1bn (US$265m) bond issue this summer. Again this was to refinance part of its PLN13bn (US$3.5bn) debt pile.