The board of Spanish cable firm Ono has approved management’s plans to refinance part of the group’s E4.148bn debt and potentially recapitalise the company by E200m.
The company hopes that talks to refinance part of its debt pile, which represents nearly…
The board of Spanish cable firm Ono has approved management’s plans to refinance part of the group’s E4.148bn debt and potentially recapitalise the company by E200m.
The company hopes that talks to refinance part of its debt pile, which represents nearly 6x its 2008 EBITDA, could be concluded in Q1 2010.
In particular, the talks aim to delay part of the large repayments due between 2010 and 2012 to 2013.
Ono, which is owned by investment firms including Multitel, Thomas H Lee and Providence Equity, confirmed the information but stressed that nothing has been decided as talks are still ongoing.
Much of Ono’s debt stems from a E3.6bn senior facility arranged by Calyon, Fortis, RBS, BSCH and SG and syndicated in July 2007.
It is understood that banks representing half of the loan have agreed to a refi, but talks are ongoing with the other lenders.
A capital expansion, meanwhile, would help facilitate a refinancing deal. However, discussions with shareholders and lenders are still ongoing and it is believed that several options are still on the table, including a recap but also a new participative loan.
Ono’s E3.6bn loan consisted of a E1bn term loan A paying 175bp over Euribor and a E800m term loan B paying 175bp over Euribor.
These expire in 2012, while the remaining E1.6bn worth of facilities expire in 2013.
In addition, Ono has around E414m of debt due in 2010 and E590m due in 2011. It is also scheduled to repay E960m in 2012 and a further E1.5bn in 2013.
