Debt-troubled UK ISP TalkTalk has this afternoon issued a second update on their recently agreed refinancing package, which was announced on 12th August 2024 (here and here) and is said to be worth around £400m. As of today, 100% of the RCF and over 97% of bondholders have now signed up to the binding Lock-Up Agreement.
The deal essentially extended the group’s debt maturities to September 2027 and buys them more time to fix the foundations, or to find a buyer for the parts of their business that can still be saved. The latest update confirms that TalkTalk has now secured almost total support from the key parties, making it easier to proceed.
Refinancing Update: Update on support level for the transaction
Further to the announcement on 2nd September, the Company is pleased to announce that additional [revolving credit facility] lenders and bondholders have entered into the binding Lock-Up Agreement supporting the transaction.
As of 16th September 2024, 100% of the RCF and over 97% of bondholders have now signed up to the binding Lock-Up Agreement.
The level of support from lenders means the Company can now implement the transaction consensually via contractual amendments under the RCF and a consent solicitation and exchange offer, which is expected to be the quickest and most cost-effective implementation route.
The Company thanks creditors and stakeholders for their ongoing support and looks forward to closing the transaction in the coming months.
Give them 12 months and pray for a miracle, or call the debts in now and accept pence in the pound following a costly administration process? What choice do their creditors have?
The trouble is that there’s no point in “fixing the foundations” when the entire edifice is rotten to the core, and anyone interested in a buyout is probably waiting for an opportunity to cherry-pick the prize assets at a fraction of their real worth.
The phrase “dead man walking” certainly springs to mind…
Think there’s an awful lot of companies out there that are on this kind of life support (not just in the telecoms industry). This country seems to be surviving
on a huge bubble of debt.