Belgian cableco Telenet has announced a new E300m issuance under its existing senior credit facility to repay outstanding debt.
To finance this issuance, special purpose vehicle Telenet Finance III plans to launch notes worth E300m due in February 2021….
Belgian cableco Telenet has announced a new E300m issuance under its existing senior credit facility to repay outstanding debt.
To finance this issuance, special purpose vehicle Telenet Finance III plans to launch notes worth E300m due in February 2021. The coupon or date of execution is not yet known at this stage, a spokesman told TelecomFinance.
Credit Suisse, J.P. Morgan, BNP Paribas, BofA Merrill Lynch, RBS and Société Générale are underwriters and highlighted in the prospectus as joint lead and book-running managers, he added.
In a statement announcing the move today, the company stated: “Following the voluntary debt exchange and extension process and the issuance of E600m of debt under the senior credit facility in 2010, this transaction is the next step in a further optimisation of Telenet’s capital structure and improvement of the debt repayment schedules.”
Telenet continued: “This transaction will further extend the average maturity profile of Telenet’s debt and improve the stability of Telenet’s debt capitalisation by providing additional cash flow flexibility at very attractive market conditions.”
The group carried a net total debt ratio of 2.8x EBITDA on 30 September 2010. The debt is rated Ba3 by Moody’s and BB by Fitch.
In related news, Telenet is considering bidding for French cableco Numericable’s assets. Numericable has appointed Rothschild to consider a sale of subsidiaries in Belgium and Luxembourg.
“We are looking into this matter, as we always do with cable opportunities,” a Telenet spokesman confirmed.