alexandra uk
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2002
Euro Disney wins restructuring deal
French theme park operator Euro Disney on Tuesday said it had won the unanimous agreement of its creditors to a modified debt restructuring plan designed to save it from bankruptcy.
The company, staggering under a 2.2 billion ($2.71 billion) mountain of debt, said all its creditors had agreed to a plan hammered out in July between it and its principle lenders, though it incorporates a handful of changes.
Chairman André Lacroix welcomed the accord, which he said would allow Euro Disney to further develop the park. Sources told Reuters in August that Euro Disney was planning to build a Tower of Terror attraction that could cost as much as 150 million.
Finance Director Jeffrey Speed said the deal would help shelter the company against swings in the tourism market.
"Once implemented, the agreement will provide significant liquidity, including measures intended to mitigate the adverse impact of business volatility, as well as capital to invest in exciting new rides and attractions that are essential to long-term growth," he said.
Shares in the company, suspended on Tuesday, will resume trading on Wednesday, pan-European bourse operator Euronext said.
Euro Disney's 39 percent shareholder Walt Disney Co. and French state-owned bank CDC drafted the initial accord alongside French banks Crédit Agricole and BNP Paribas.
But final agreement was delayed by speculators headed by the Black Diamond fund, to which Euro Disney's principal banks had sold some of its debt and which had held out for better terms.
Those funds won a number of concessions that modified the original accord. Euro Disney agreed to pay 200 basis points more on 450 million of senior debt and to bring forward the payment date on some of its senior debt to 2012 from the previously agreed-upon 2014.
The company also won a 30 million waiver on some of its subordinated debt.
A person close to the talks told Reuters that Walt Disney Co. had waived 10 million; and CDC, which owns 950 million euros of Euro Disney's total debt , waived 20 million.
The source said that would help Euro Disney pay the higher interest rates on its senior debt.
Other elements of the plan remain unchanged. They include a 250 million capital increase and a 150 million credit line from Walt Disney Co. (DIS: Research, Estimates), plus temporary waivers on some of the royalties Euro Disney has to pay its parent company for use of the Walt Disney characters.
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Check out the cost - 150 million
French theme park operator Euro Disney on Tuesday said it had won the unanimous agreement of its creditors to a modified debt restructuring plan designed to save it from bankruptcy.
The company, staggering under a 2.2 billion ($2.71 billion) mountain of debt, said all its creditors had agreed to a plan hammered out in July between it and its principle lenders, though it incorporates a handful of changes.
Chairman André Lacroix welcomed the accord, which he said would allow Euro Disney to further develop the park. Sources told Reuters in August that Euro Disney was planning to build a Tower of Terror attraction that could cost as much as 150 million.
Finance Director Jeffrey Speed said the deal would help shelter the company against swings in the tourism market.
"Once implemented, the agreement will provide significant liquidity, including measures intended to mitigate the adverse impact of business volatility, as well as capital to invest in exciting new rides and attractions that are essential to long-term growth," he said.
Shares in the company, suspended on Tuesday, will resume trading on Wednesday, pan-European bourse operator Euronext said.
Euro Disney's 39 percent shareholder Walt Disney Co. and French state-owned bank CDC drafted the initial accord alongside French banks Crédit Agricole and BNP Paribas.
But final agreement was delayed by speculators headed by the Black Diamond fund, to which Euro Disney's principal banks had sold some of its debt and which had held out for better terms.
Those funds won a number of concessions that modified the original accord. Euro Disney agreed to pay 200 basis points more on 450 million of senior debt and to bring forward the payment date on some of its senior debt to 2012 from the previously agreed-upon 2014.
The company also won a 30 million waiver on some of its subordinated debt.
A person close to the talks told Reuters that Walt Disney Co. had waived 10 million; and CDC, which owns 950 million euros of Euro Disney's total debt , waived 20 million.
The source said that would help Euro Disney pay the higher interest rates on its senior debt.
Other elements of the plan remain unchanged. They include a 250 million capital increase and a 150 million credit line from Walt Disney Co. (DIS: Research, Estimates), plus temporary waivers on some of the royalties Euro Disney has to pay its parent company for use of the Walt Disney characters.
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Check out the cost - 150 million
