Canadian telecoms and broadband provider Shaw Communications has netted a C$1bn (US$983m) five-year revolving credit facility in order to replace a prior facility that was due to mature in May 2012.
The new loan was provided by a syndicate of ten banks…
Canadian telecoms and broadband provider Shaw Communications has netted a C$1bn (US$983m) five-year revolving credit facility in order to replace a prior facility that was due to mature in May 2012.
The new loan was provided by a syndicate of ten banks with Toronto-Dominion Bank as lead arranger and sole bookrunner, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Nova Scotia as syndication agents and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi as documentation agent.
Shaw said that the new facility will be used for general corporate purposes, which is likely to include supporting the company’s ongoing plans to upgrade its digital network infrastructure as well as the forthcoming spring launch of municipal Wi-Fi networks in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.
Shaw has previously announced plans to launch a mobile network in order to help it better compete with rivals Telus and BCE but shelved the strategy in September 2011 due to the prohibitive costs involved in constructing such a network. The company opted instead to focus on deploying municipal Wi-Fi networks.
Shaw recently announced its first quarter results for the three months ending 30 November 2011 with revenue up 19% year-on-year to C$1.28bn (US$1.26bn) and operating income up 18% to C$566m (US$ 558.6m). The company had free cash flow for the quarter of C$119m (US$117.4m) and total debt of approximately C$5.2bn (US$5.13bn).