Indebted UK cable company, Telewest Communications, this morning said that it has reached a non-binding agreement with its senior lenders and bondholders over the terms of its new bank lending facilities.
The amended bank facilities total £2.2 billion and will provide Telewest with ‘substantial liquidity’ that should meet the group’s funding requirements following the restructure, which, when completed, will see bondholders take control of 97% of the group after cancelling £3.5 billion in debt.
The new bank lending facilities are yet to be approved by Telewest’s foreign exchange creditors, although they have received credit committee approval; they are also contigent on the success of the balance sheet restructuring.
Managing director, Charles Burdick, said: “This agreement with our banks is another important step forward in Telewest’s balance sheet restructuring process. Restructuring discussions continue and I will update all stakeholders when we have further progress to report”.
NTL Emerges From Bankruptcy Rival group NTL this week announced that it has finally emerged from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy procedure with a restructured balance sheet.
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 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.
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