Ladbrokes completes its refinancing sheet

Ladbrokes said ‘strong’ investor demand saw the offer oversubscribed and, as a result, closed early. Proceeds from the bond issue will be used to pay down existing bank debt, which has enabled Ladbrokes to extend the maturity to June 2019 of US$ 593 million of its previous US$ 1000 million bank facilities – due to expire in 2016 – and cancel a surplus US$ 229 million of the previous facilities.
 
The bookmaker confirmed that all financial covenants remain unchanged. As a result of these actions, the bookmaker’s total debt financing stands at US$ 1238 million with an extended maturity profile.
 
Bank facilities of US$ 93 million have maturity until December 2016, while US$ 381 million of 7.625% existing institutional bonds have maturity until March 2017. In addition, maturity for US$ 593 million in bank facilities stretches to June 2019, while 169 million in 5.125% retail bond has maturity until September 2022.
 
Ian Bull, CFO of Ladbrokes, said: “We are delighted to announce the completion of our re-financing work well ahead of our existing facilities maturing. 
 
With constructive and strong support from our bank and debt investors, we were able to use both the bank and bond market to enhance the flexibility and length of our debt profile and further strengthen the Ladbrokes' balance sheet.”