Replacement of existing financing arrangements

RNS Number : 9059F

GVC Holdings PLC

02 August 2016

 

2 August 2016

GVC Holdings PLC

 ("GVC" or the "Company" or the "Group")

Replacement of existing financing arrangements

GVC Holdings PLC (LSE:GVC), announces that it has entered into a commitment with Nomura International plc ("Nomura") for a replacement of GVC's existing financing, the proceeds of which are to be applied towards the repayment of its secured €400 million term loan facility with Cerberus Business Finance, LLC ("Cerberus Loan"), of which €386.5 million remains outstanding as at 1 August 2016.

GVC and Nomura have committed to the €250 million Nomura Unsecured Loan (the "Nomura Loan") with formal documentation of the agreement being signed by 31 October 2016. The balance of the Cerberus Loan will be repaid from existing cash resources.

Details of the Nomura Loan:

Amount committed:	€250,000,000
Initial interest rate:	2% above Euribor
Euribor floor:	0.0%
Extension period:	6 or 12 months after the initial maturity date
Anticipated date of funds draw-down:	on or around 1 February 2017
Initial maturity date:	One year from the signing date of the loan agreement

In the 12 months following drawdown of the Nomura Loan, GVC's annual cash interest savings are expected to amount to approximately €43.3 million, an equivalent saving of approximately 14.8 €cents per share (before tax) or approximately 12 pence per share. GVC will also benefit from a reduction in financing fees.

As at 24 July 2016, the Group had net debt of €154.3m (defined as gross borrowings less cash after adjusting for player liabilities).

Kenneth Alexander, CEO said:

"I am delighted that we have delivered on another key objective for 2016. The quality of our lending partner and competitive rate we have secured is a result of the progress already made by the enlarged GVC. Not only does the refinancing significantly reduce our financing costs but it enables us to drive further shareholder value through investment and paves the way for a return to dividend payments in 2017. We have been pleased to work with Nomura and look forward to working with them in the future.

I am also pleased to report that trading has continued positively with July like for like revenues per day up 26% on last year and up 31% in constant currency, boosted by the Euro 2016 tournament."

This announcement contains inside information.

- ends -

For further information:

GVC Holdings PLC
Kenneth Alexander, Chief Executive	Tel: [phone]
Richard Cooper, Group Finance Director Nick Batram, Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Strategy	Tel: [phone]

Cenkos Securities plc
Mark Connelly, Jeremy Osler, Camilla Hume	Tel: [phone]

Investec Bank plc
Garry Levin, Chris Treneman, Carlton Nelson	Tel: [phone]

Media enquiries:

Bell Pottinger
David Rydell, James Newman, Anna Legge, Laura Jaques	Tel: [phone]

About GVC Holdings PLC

GVC Holdings PLC is a leading e-gaming operator in both B2C and B2B markets.  GVC has four main product verticals (sports, Casino, Poker, Bingo) with a number of brands; Sports labels (bwin, Sportingbet, gamebookers), Gaming labels (partypoker, partycasino, Foxy Bingo, Gioco Digitale, CasinoClub), Studios (B2B) and non-core assets. 

GVC acquired bwin.party digital entertainment plc on 1 February 2016.  The Group is headquartered in the Isle of Man and has licences in Alderney, Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Eire, France, Germany, Greece (interim), Gibraltar, Italy, Malta, Romania, UK, and USA (New Jersey), Additionally, through partner arrangements its activities are licensed in Belgium and South Africa.

For more information see the Group's website: www.gvc-plc.com 

 

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