Entain PLC on Monday announced the repricing of two existing Term B loans, which it said will improve liquidity by about £295 million.
The Isle of Man-based bookmaker, which owns Ladbrokes and Coral, said the changes applied to a USD term loan worth $1.74 billion, and a EUR term loan worth €1.03 billion.
The USD loan matures in October 2029, and the margin has been reduced by 75 basis points to 275 basis points; the ten-point credit adjustment spread has also been removed.
For the EUR loan, the margin has been reduced by 50 points to 325 basis points.
Entain also announced the allocation of a $500 million (around £400 million) fully fungible add-on for the USD loan, and an additional €235 million add-on for the EUR loan, each with the same revised margins.
Entain said the add-ons will fund in mid-May and be swapped to GBP. Of the net proceeds, £300 million will be used to immediately repay a bank loan from the first quarter, with the remaining approximate £295 million used as incremental liquidity.
Entain said these ‘net debt neutral’ actions therefore improve its liquidity by approximately £295 million and extend its debt’s maturity dates, by replacing the bank loan due in 2026 with the loans due in 2028 and 2029.
Entain said the re-pricings have not in isolation changed its expectations for cash interest costs. However, it has still revised its 2024 cash interest guidance to about £265 million from the £255 million anticipated in March.
Entain explained that ‘with economic forecasts indicating a slower rate of interest rate reduction, we are taking a more conservative view of interest costs for the balance of the year’.
Shares in Entain were up 1.1% at 792.40 pence on Monday morning in London.
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