{"id":39014,"date":"2024-08-12T08:42:12","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T07:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?p=39014"},"modified":"2024-08-12T10:16:03","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T09:16:03","slug":"broadband-isp-talktalk-uk-to-announce-400m-deal-with-lenders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/08\/broadband-isp-talktalk-uk-to-announce-400m-deal-with-lenders.html","title":{"rendered":"Broadband ISP TalkTalk UK Confirms \u00a3400m Deal with Lenders UPDATE"},"content":{"rendered":"

Debt ridden UK broadband ISP TalkTalk<\/a> have this morning confirmed that they’ve finally reached a \u00a3400 million deal with their lenders. The deal will buy the internet and network provider time to resolve their underlying financial woes by extending the group’s debt maturities to 2027 – avoiding an ugly default.<\/p>\n

The deal will see TalkTalk<\/a>’s shareholders (led by founder Sir Charles Dunstone<\/strong>, as well as Toscafund and Ares Management) agreeing to immediately inject \u00a365m into the company, with a further \u00a3170m to follow. Some leadership changes would also occur, with CEO Dame Tristia Harrison<\/strong> becoming a Non-Executive Director in September 2024 and being replaced by James Smith<\/strong> (current Group CFO), while Dunstone will remain Group Chairman.<\/p>\n

NOTE:<\/strong> Back in 2020 the Group became the subject of a \u00a31.1bn<\/strong> takeover by Toscafund<\/strong> (here<\/a>), which including debt valued the business at around \u00a31.8bn<\/strong>.<\/div>\n

The \u00a3235m capital injection would then be complemented by an asset package (i.e. parts of the company normally held separately) worth roughly the same value (i.e. capital and asses worth a total of c.\u00a3400m) to entice lenders, which is expected to bundle-in wholesaler Virtual1<\/strong> and the customer bases acquired from SSE Broadband (Ovo) and Shell Energy (here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

We will update again once the official announcement drops into our inbox.<\/p>\n

UPDATE 9:13am<\/strong><\/p>\n

As expected, TalkTalk<\/a> has just confirmed details of the agreement.<\/p>\n

TalkTalk’s Statement in Full<\/strong><\/p>\n

As detailed in the Company’s Annual Report and Annual Results Presentation published on 18th July, the Company is in discussions with its financial stakeholders regarding the terms of a potential extension of the maturities of the Company\u2019s secured debt, being Revolving Credit Facilities (\u201cRCF\u201d) maturing November 2024 and Senior Secured Notes (\u201cSSN\u201d) maturing February 2025.<\/p>\n

The Company is pleased to announce that the key terms of a refinancing transaction have been agreed between a group of SSN holders,<\/em><\/strong> a group of RCF banks (the SSN group and RCF group together represent approximately 60% of the Company\u2019s secured debt), Ares Management Funds and the Company\u2019s major shareholders.<\/p>\n

The proposed transaction will leave the Company well-funded to deliver the respective strategic plans of PlatformX Communications (PXC) and TalkTalk, continuing to capitalise on their strong positions in the market.<\/p>\n

In conjunction with this agreement in principle, the Company\u2019s shareholders have today provided \u00a365m of interim funding to the Group.<\/p>\n

This agreement in principle includes:<\/p>\n