Digicel strikes debt restructuring deal

Digicel strikes debt restructuring deal

As part of its debt-cutting plan, Digicel Group announced three-quarters of bondholders are set to take shares in the company to resolve its debts and reduce founder Denis O’Brien’s stake from 99.9% to 10% to have US$1.8 billion written off, reported the Irish Times.

The remaining quarter bondholders are reportedly giving Digicel a 15-day grace period to reach a final agreement on March 31. The Irish Times reported an ad hoc group of so-called crossover bondholders that own large parts of the operator’s debt have also agreed to the restructuring.

The debt restructuring was proposed in February before the deadline for a payment of US$925 million in outstanding bonds. It was met with reservations from creditors.

Digicel will be in control by investment firms Golden Tree Asset Management, PGIM Fixed Income and Contrarian Capital Management, under the deal.

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