Poland’s fourth-largest mobile network operator P4 (Play) is marketing PLN3.7bn (US$1.2bn) worth of bonds in euros and Polish zloty to refinance existing debt and pay shareholders.
The issue will include US$852.98m worth of senior secured notes due…
Poland’s fourth-largest mobile network operator P4 (Play) is marketing PLN3.7bn (US$1.2bn) worth of bonds in euros and Polish zloty to refinance existing debt and pay shareholders.
The issue will include US$852.98m worth of senior secured notes due 2019 and US$324.9m worth of senior unsecured noted due 2019.
The tranches will be issued by subsidiaries Play Finance 2 and Play Finance 1 respectively, according to a Moody’s statement.
The rating agency has rated the secured and unsecured notes (P)B1 and (P)B2 respectively, both with a stable outlook. The agency has assigned the company a first-time corporate family rating of B1 and a probability of default rating of Ba3.
Proceeds from the issue will be used to refinance €597m (US$815.7m) of existing bank debt, the agency noted. About PLN561m (US$180.03m) of the proceeds will be placed into an escrow account and released to shareholders or the company subject to certain conditions.
Commenting on the company’s rating, Moody’s vice president and senior credit officer Ivan Palacios said: “The assigned B1 rating balances our assessment of, among other things, Play’s small size, its concentration in Poland, the weakness of its mobile-only model and its foreign currency risk against more positive factors, such as its track record of revenue and market share growth and the expected fast deleveraging profile due to its growing free cash flow generation.”
The company has reportedly hired JP Morgan to lead the transaction.
P4 is owned by Greek businessman Panos Germanos’ Tollerton Investments and Icelandic businessman Thor Bjorgolfsson’s Novator, which have stakes of 50.3% and 49.7% respectively. The company claims to have about 10 million customers, equal to an 18% market share, making it Poland’s fourth largest mobile operator. The three largest are Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile, Orange and Polkomtel’s Plus.
