Virgin Media issues new bonds to fight debt

Virgin Media is to issue €689 million worth of secured bonds in its bid to refinance its main bank debt.
 
The FT reports that JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs will handle the placement, which has an eight-year maturity.
 
The UK cable carrier is staring at a £3.1 billion (€3.44b) debt pile by 2012, as part of its net debt totaling more than £4 billion. 
 
The debt was accumulated as Virgin Media heavily invested in its broadband network in a bid to compete with British Sky Broadcasting and BT.
 
The carrier has progressively been issuing multi million pound tranches of bonds, the latest in November for the equivalent of £715m.
 
The money will be used to repay bank debt, which carries covenants and restrictions that bonds do not.