Cable operator NTL has finally emerged from bankruptcy protection after restructuring its debt to satisfy creditors.
The company will now be split into two parts, NTL Incorporated, featuring its UK and Ireland business, and NTL Europe. Lenders have agreed to swap $10.9 billion in debt for equity.
NTL’s parent company initially applied for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May after building up a huge debt mountain. The latest quarterly figures revealed that revenues and subscriptions were on the wane (see NTL Earnings Rise As Cost Cutting Continues) and the operator has now cut some 8,000 jobs in the past two years.
Chief executive Barclay Knapp heralded the Chapter 11 announcement as “a new beginning” for NTL but the company’s problems are far from over and it has admitted that earnings are unlikely to rise by more than 3% this year, 20% less than previously forecasted.
