Pressure grows on TalkTalk founder to seal refinance deal
The pressure is piling up on the directors and owners of Salford Quays headquartered telecoms business TalkTalk after Australian banking group Macquarie walked away from a £450m deal to take a stake of at least 40% in its wholesale arm, now called Platform X.
That blow comes as the self-styled telecoms challenger races to refinance billions of pounds of debt after founder Sir Charles Dunstone and Toscafund took the business private in 2021.
TalkTalk’s current revolving £330m credit facility matures in November, while £685m in corporate bonds need to be paid off or renegotiated by February 2025.
TheBusinessDesk.com understands that a £400m rescue package being put together by Dunstone and Toscafund and will be put to banks and bondholders at a crunch summit this afternoon (5 August 2024).
The £400m is made up of £200m capital injection and £200m of assets.
James Smith, Talktalk’s chief financial officer, said: “Funding proposals to refinance the group’s balance sheet are under active discussion.
“We are making constructive progress and are confident of a near term agreement which will ensure the group is well capitalised going forward.”
The rest of TalkTalk has been undergoing a break-up after TalkTalk Business Direct (TTBD), the business and enterprise-focused connectivity provider, was acquired last October 2023 by shareholders, including Dunstone, in a reported £95m acquisition.
Just two weeks ago (July 2024) the broadband and telecommunications provider, which has 3.6m UK domestic and business customers, filed a warning in its annual report of “a material uncertainty” on its ability to continue as a going concern if a deal isn’t done.
It is understood TalkTalk’s consumer arm is no longer for sale and the refinancing is dependent on the consumer arm and PlatformX (previously known as wholesale services) remaining within the group structure.
