Avanti confirms $55m extra borrowing
May 29, 2019
By Chris Forrester
Avanti Communications confirmed May 28th it had secured an extra $55 million of borrowings. Avanti says it will publish its audited financials will be published around June 7th.
Avanti says the extra funding is in the form of a two-year lien (“the 1.5 Facility”) at a “payment in Kind” interest rate equal to 12.5 per cent, and due for repayment May 2021 or June 2021 if the lenders agree.
The satellite operator has also secured an extension to its existing “Super Senior Facility” debt from its lenders to January 2021 subject to payment of an extension fee (and at an interest rate of 9.5 per cent).
As to anticipated revenues, Avanti reconfirms that bandwidth revenues for the year to December 2018 will be approximately $32 million, although underlying expenses for delivering that bandwidth are around $80 million. Avanti is guiding that revenues for 2019 should be 125 per cent of its 2018 figure, and a further 40 percent in 2020.
Avanti’s long-awaited Hylas 3 satellite should launch from French Guiana on about July 24th.