Virgin Media announced the launch of a new minimum $750 million senior secured Term Loan due 31 January 2025. Proceeds of the Loan, if successful, will be used to refinance the existing £100 million Term Loan D due June 2022, a portion of the £990 million 6.0% Senior Secured Notes due April 2021, a portion of the $900 million 5.375% Senior Secured Notes due April 2021 and to pay related transaction costs. The Loan is expected to be rated Ba3 by Moody’s and BB- by S&P. Citigroup is acting as global coordinator on the transaction, alongside Barclays, BofA Merrill Lynch, Crédit Agricole CIB, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan and Scotiabank as joint bookrunners.
The press release notes, "The transaction is consistent with our policy to maximise tenor across our capital structure. We will continue to opportunistically access the loan and bond capital markets going forward, typically making use of optional redemption flexibility to refinance debt well in advance of maturity. However under specific circumstances, we may elect to refinance certain tranches of debt at or close to maturity to avoid incurring significant make-whole costs, to the extent that such payments are adequately covered by existing liquidity, including headroom under revolving credit facilities."
Virgin Media offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline.