Ziggo to refinance debt with €800m loan

Dutch cable operator Ziggo has received loan commitments from a number of banks to raise €800m, which it said it would use to partially refinance its existing debt. 

The new credit facility will be provided by ABN Amro Bank, BNP Paribas Fortis, Cooperative Centrale Raiffeisen Boerenleenbank, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, ING-DiBa, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and Société Générale.

The cash will consist of a €400 million revolving credit facility and a €400 million Term Loan A, both of which will mature in five years. Ziggo said that it had also given Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan authority to set up a series of investor meetings for potential additional refinancing, which could include a capital markets transaction.

The news comes just days after Ziggo said it was buying local voice and data specialist Esprit Telecom from the Detron ICT & Telecom Group. Ziggo today reiterated its 2013 guidance in which it estimated that EBITDA for the year will increase in the range of 2.5-3.5%.