Conditional access firm NDS is looking to borrow as much as US$1.05bn to refinance existing debt, according to reports citing people close to the matter.
The facility will include a six-year US$250m term loan A, which will be mainly sold to banks, and a…
Conditional access firm NDS is looking to borrow as much as US$1.05bn to refinance existing debt, according to reports citing people close to the matter.
The facility will include a six-year US$250m term loan A, which will be mainly sold to banks, and a seven-year US$800m term loan B, which is expected to be bought by hedge funds and bank-loan mutual funds. The deal is reportedly arranged by JPMorgan.
This comes just a few weeks after NDS, which is owned by private equity firm Permira and media giant News Corp, said it would sell OpenBet, an online gaming and betting technology solutions provider, to European private equity firm Vitruvian Partners for £208m. At the time, NDS, which hired Allen & Overy as legal adviser on the deal, explained it would use the proceeds of the sale for general corporate purposes.
In an email to SatelliteFinance, NDS said: “Following the successful completion of the sale of OpenBet, an NDS subsidiary, NDS will use this cash as well as cash accumulated from operations to repay some of its debt. NDS wishes to capitalise on the low interest environment to reduce its debt leverage and refinance the remaining debt on more favourable terms.” NDS was last in the debt market in June 2009 when it raised US$1.34bn. The debt was split between a US$990m senior tranche and a subordinated tranche. The senior debt comprised a US$350m seven-year term loan A paying 450bp over Libor, a US$490m eight-year term loan B paying 450bp over Libor, and a seven-year US$150m revolving credit facility that paid 350bp over Libor.
The subordinated debt consisted of a US$340m mezzanine loan. Bank of Ireland, BNP Paribas, JP Morgan, Lloyds TSB and Morgan Stanley were the MLAs on the facility.
At the beginning of 2009, Permira and News Corp bought out the remaining shareholders in NDS through a US$63 per share offer. The two companies then took the conditional access firm private, with Permira owning a majority 51% stake and News Corp the remaining 49%, having reduced its holding in the company from 72%.
