New Facilities and tender offer of Senior Notes

Helios Towers PLC

14 September 2023

 

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION

Helios Towers plc

Helios Towers announces New Facilities and capped US$400m tender offer of the Senior Notes

London, 14 September 2023: Helios Towers plc ("Helios Towers", the "Company"), the independent telecommunications infrastructure company, is pleased to announce that it has signed a new five-year up to US$600m term loan facilities agreement ("New TL") and up to US$120m revolving credit facility agreement ("New RCF") (together the "New Facilities"), with the New Facilities ranking pari passu with the 7.000% Senior Notes due 2025 issued by HTA Group, Ltd (the "Senior Notes").

The proceeds of the New TL will be used to (a) fund a cash tender offer for up to US$400m of the Senior Notes, which the Company announced today, and is subject to the conditions set forth in the offer to purchase dated 14 September 2023, (b) repay the US$65m drawn on the existing term loan facility dated 8 June 2020 ("2020 TL"), with cancellation of the remaining undrawn commitments, together with payment of associated fees, costs and expenses and (c) fund general corporate purposes. The New RCF will replace the Company's existing and undrawn US$70m RCF dated 8 June 2020 ("2020 RCF") in full.

The New Facilities feature a 1ppt tighter opening margin¹ compared to the 2020 TL and 2020 RCF being refinanced, reflecting the diversification, increased hard-currency earnings and scale achieved by the Company over the past three years. The New TL also extends the average remaining life of the Company's debt, supports proactively addressing the 2025 Senior Notes maturity and represents an expansion of Helios Towers' banking group.

¹ The New TL margin features a leverage ratchet, allowing the margin to be adjusted up or down depending on the Company's reported net leverage. The 1ppt reduction from the 2020 TL and 2020 RCF is calculated using Company estimated net leverage for Q3 23, with the margin expected to further reduce as the Company continues its focus on deleveraging.

Investor Relations

Chris Baker-Sams - Head of Strategic Finance and Investor Relations

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Media relations

Edward Bridges / Stephanie Ellis - FTI Consulting LLP

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For the purposes of MAR, the person responsible for making this announcement is Paul Barrett, General Counsel and Company Secretary.

About Helios Towers

·     Helios Towers is a leading independent telecommunications infrastructure company, having established one of the most extensive tower portfolios across Africa and the Middle East. It builds, owns and operates telecom passive infrastructure, providing services to mobile network operators.

·     Helios Towers owns and operates over 13,800 telecommunication tower sites in nine countries across Africa and the Middle East.

·     Helios Towers pioneered the model in Africa of buying towers that were held by single operators and providing services utilising the tower infrastructure to the seller and other operators. This allows wireless operators to outsource non-core tower-related activities, enabling them to focus their capital and managerial resources on providing higher quality services more cost-effectively.

For more information about Helios Towers, please visit: https://www.heliostowers.com/investors/

 

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