Germany’s Kabel Deutschland (KDG) plans to launch €300m (US$378.8m) of five-year senior notes to replace part of the €600m (US$757.5m) bridge facility it secured to help fund its proposed acquisition of Tele Columbus.
KDG said it will lend the net…
Germany’s Kabel Deutschland (KDG) plans to launch €300m (US$378.8m) of five-year senior notes to replace part of the €600m (US$757.5m) bridge facility it secured to help fund its proposed acquisition of Tele Columbus.
KDG said it will lend the net proceeds of the €300m unsecured notes, due 2017, to its operating company, Kabel Deutschland Vertrieb und Service (KDVS), by way of a subordinated shareholder loan. KDVS will then use the funds to help finance the planned Tele Columbus buyout or, if the transaction does not go ahead, for general corporate purposes.
In late May, KDG, Germany’s largest cableco, agreed to acquire Berlin-based level four player Tele Columbus for €603m (US$770m) plus accrued interest – a total €618m (US$789m) as of 31 December 2011.
The acquisition is subject to the approval by the Federal Cartel Office (FCO). Announcing the proposed deal, KDG said it expects the antitrust authority to arrive at a decision in the fourth quarter of this year. All going to schedule, the cableco foresees the transaction closing in the first quarter of 2013.
At the time, KDG said Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs had committed €600m (US$766.5m) in unsecured bridge financing which would be available for the next year and could be refinanced or rolled into a permanent facility.
Moody’s has assigned the new €300m issue a provisional ‘(P)B1’ rating, while Standard & Poor’s has rated it ‘B’.
