Cell C turns to Blue Label, banks to refinance onerous debt
Cell C said it’s refinanced R1.4-billion ($100-million) of debt on better terms with loans from its biggest shareholder and a consortium of banks as the South African wireless carrier considers a listing in 2020.
South Africa’s third-largest operator is also in talks with vendors including Huawei Technologies for an additional facility of R1.4-billion to fund capital expenditure, a company representative said by email in response to questions.
Cell C emerged last year from a protracted debt-restructuring rescue plan with Blue Label Telecoms taking a 45% stake. That restructuring reduced Cell C’s debt by two-thirds to less than R6-billion, but much of the remainder was still funded at onerous terms with interest rates as high as 17%.
Better terms and new financing will help Cell C improve its results, which have been burdened by high interest-rate payments. In turn, those results have hit Blue Label Telecoms’s shares, which have dropped almost 70% since it took the stake in Cell C.
Cell C, which competes with MTN Group and Vodacom Group in South Africa, is planning to sell shares in Johannesburg by the first quarter of 2020 to fund acquisitions, Chief Executive Officer Jose Dos Santos said Aug. 21.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
Multotec, recognised industry leaders in metallurgy and process engineering help mining houses across the world process minerals more efficiently,...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Tractor & Grader Supplies (TGS™): Your Trusted, Genuine Source for New Replacement Parts for Earthmoving, Construction and Mining Machinery
VISIT SHOWROOM
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
