German cableco Unitymedia KabelBW has priced €350m senior-secured notes due 2023.
A company spokesperson confirmed the notes, issued by subsidiaries Unitymedia Hessen and Unitymedia NRW, priced at par and will accrue interest of 5.625% per…
German cableco Unitymedia KabelBW has priced €350m senior-secured notes due 2023.
A company spokesperson confirmed the notes, issued by subsidiaries Unitymedia Hessen and Unitymedia NRW, priced at par and will accrue interest of 5.625% per annum.
Proceeds from the issue are for general corporate purposes, the spokesperson said, adding that this may include redeeming part of a loan from parent company, US cableco Liberty Global.
Citi acted as the lead arranger of the transaction.
Moody’s has assigned the issue a (P)Ba3 rating, under review for downgrade.
The rating is based on the agency’s expectation that the notes will eventually rank pari-passu with existing senior-secured notes issued by the subsidiaries.
Moody’s placed all of Unitymedia KabelBW’s ratings on review for downgrade in February, following Liberty Global’s announcement it had agreed to buy UK cableco Virgin Media in a stock and cash merger valued at about US$23.3bn. Liberty has since also bought a 12.65% in Dutch cableco Ziggo for €632.5m.
Unitymedia placed an upsized US$1.65bn dual-tranche bond late last year to refinance existing debt. The bond consisted of a US$1bn tranche, upped from US$845m, and a €500m tranche. Both mature in 2023.
The cableco reported revenues of €1.8bn for 2012, up 11% year-on-year. Adjusted EBITDA stood at €1.07bn, also up 11%.
