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Charter Announces $6.8 Billion Refinancing Plan

Apr 3, 2006  •  Post A Comment

Charter Communications, the St. Louis-based cable operator with around 6 million subscribers, said Monday it will launch a $6.8 billion refinancing plan.

The idea behind the refinancing is to extend the maturity of existing debt instruments and is part of the debt-laden company’s broader strategy to increase its liquidity.

Charter said it hired investment banks JP Morgan Securities, Banc of America Securities and Citigroup Global Markets to arrange a $300 million credit facility and a $5 billion loan due in 2013 and to amend an existing $1.5 billion credit facility. The company expects to complete the refinancing in a few weeks.

As of Dec. 31, Charter’s debt stood at more than $19 billion, the result of a series of cable system acquisitions in the 1990s that have left it with less financial capacity than its peers to aggressively roll out advanced products such as telephone service.