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ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. on Friday said it has signed an agreement
with Sky Cable Corp. to extend the maturity of the cable
operator’s debt to the broadcast company.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock
Exchange, Eugenio L. Lopez 3rd, ABS-CBN chairman and president, said
Sky Cable (formerly Central CATV Inc.) executed a second amendment
to the facility agreement with ABS-CBN and other lenders of Sky
Cable who hold more than 67 percent of the outstanding loan.
“The second amendment, among others, extends
the loan maturity from 2010 to 2016,” Lopez said.
Earlier, ABS-CBN purchased the bulk of Sky
Cable’s debt amounting to P1.8 billion from creditors through cash
payment and fresh borrowing.
The amount purchased is about 67 percent of the
total outstanding principal amount of P2.74 billion when the
invitation to Sky Cable’s creditors was made over a month ago.
The company offered two options for the
retirement of Sky Cable’s outstanding obligations. The first
involves ABS-CBN buying the cable TV operator’s debt at a
30-percent discount, while the second entails swapping Sky Cable’s
IOUs with those of the broadcast giant.
-- Darwin G. Amojelar
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