Dutch cableco Ziggo is considering refinancing bonds worth a total €1.95bn (US$2.67bn) soon to reduce interest rates and remove restrictions on dividends.
In a presentation on the company’s Q3 2013 results, Ziggo said that, based on current…
Dutch cableco Ziggo is considering refinancing bonds worth a total €1.95bn (US$2.67bn) soon to reduce interest rates and remove restrictions on dividends.
In a presentation on the company’s Q3 2013 results, Ziggo said that, based on current interest rates, refinancing the two bonds could result in a 175-200bps lower coupon.
The bonds in question are €750m 6.125% senior secured notes due November 2017 and €1.2bn 8% senior unsecured notes due May 2018. The former has a call premium of 3.0625% and the latter of 4%.
Ziggo’s final dividend for 2013 is subject to the refinancing of the 8% senior unsecured notes. The cableco aims to pay out 100% of free cash flow to equity while retaining a leverage rate of about 3.5x EBITDA.
Ziggo’s total net debt at the end of Q3 stood at €3.135bn. The company’s other debt instruments have lower coupons or margins: a €430m senior credit facility maturing in March 2018 pays 175 basis points over Euribor, while €750m senior secured notes maturing in March 2020 carry a 3.625% coupon.
Ziggo made headlines earlier this week when it announced it had rejected an offer from John Malone’s Liberty Global (LGI), which already has a 28.5% stake in the company.
