Gannett Co., Inc. has refinanced approximately $500 million of its 11.5% term loan, maturing in 2024, with 6.0% convertible notes due in 2027. The refinancing reduces the outstanding term loan to $1.118 billion.
“We are pleased to announce the refinancing, which we believe has three key benefits,” said Michael Reed, Gannett chairman and chief executive officer. “First, it generates significant savings, reducing our annual interest expense by approximately $28 million per year. These savings will be used to accelerate repayment of our term loan. Second, we believe that this refinancing paves the way for a refinancing of the remaining term loan by reducing the outstanding balance. And third, it extends the maturity of approximately $500 million of debt by three years. Since putting the term loan in place in November 2019, we have repaid over $175 million to date, and we expect to repay an additional $100 million in the coming months. Pro forma for these repayments, the outstanding term loan will be approximately $1 billion, which we believe we can refinance on attractive terms by the end of the first half of 2021. As we improve the company’s capital structure, we are also seeing continued improvement in our revenue trends, which we expect will drive strong fourth quarter results.”
The refinancing was unanimously approved by the company’s board of directors. The company was advised by Greenhill & Co., LLC and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP.
