Apr 12, 2024
Altice France Senior Creditors Seek 6-Month Cooperation Pact
, Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) -- Altice France’s senior creditors are aligning their interests with an unusually long-dated cooperation agreement ahead of debt restructuring talks, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Group advisers Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and Rothschild & Co. detailed a six-month agreement in a call with investors on Friday, said the people, who asked not to be identified because discussions are private. The deal could be extended twice for 60 days after the initial period, the people added, and it has the support of the group’s steering committee, one of the people said.
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Cooperation agreements bind creditors to act together in negotiations with a troubled company, making sure no rogue investors attempt to carve a better deal for themselves at the expense of the others. They’ve grown more popular in the US in recent years after escalating creditor fights. While the length of those agreements vary, they tend to last between one and three months, and are typically signed once there is a debt proposal on the table.
Altice France’s management told creditors last month that they will need to participate in “discounted transactions” so the company could lower its debt load to 4 times a measure of earnings, down from the current 6.4 times. Details of the haircuts remain unclear, but creditors quickly organized. Another group of secured and unsecured bondholders is being advised by Houlihan Lokey Inc. and law firms Milbank and Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
The senior creditors’ cooperation deal would become effective once holders of 50.1% of the first-lien notes and 50.1% of the secured notes sign it, the people added. Members wanting to sign have a 15 day window to do so, and there are no trading limitations. The steering committee of that group is formed by 15 members, an unusually large number.
A representative for Gibson Dunn didn’t respond to messages seeking comment. Representatives for Rothschild and Altice declined to comment.
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