For Release at 7.00am
29 April 2024
Entain
plc
("Entain"
or the "Group")
Successful repricing of Term
Loans and £600m equivalent add-on
Net debt neutral financing
actions
Entain plc (LSE: ENT),
the global sports betting and gaming group,
announces the successful repricing of two of its
existing Term Loan B loans, and the pricing and allocation of
fungible add-ons to those loans as follows:
USD
term loan maturing October 2029
· Successful
re-pricing of the existing $1,740m1 loan with the margin
reduced by 75bps to 275bps2. The credit adjustment
spread of 10bps was also removed
· Additional $500m (c£400m) fully fungible add on with the same
revised margin of 275bps2 over Term SOFR3,
and allocated at an original issue discount of 99.875
EUR
term loan maturing June 2028
· Successful re-pricing of the existing €1,030m loan with the
margin reduced by 50bps to 325bps2
· Additional
€235m (c£200m) fully fungible add on with the same revised margin
of 325bps2 over EURIBOR4, and allocated at an
original issue discount of 99.75
The add-ons will fund in mid-May
2024 and will both be swapped to GBP. Of these net proceeds £300m
will be used to immediately repay the bank loan borrowed in Q1
2024, with the remaining c£295m net proceeds (after fees) available
as incremental liquidity. As a result of this financing, the Group
expects to minimise drawings under the RCF during the remainder of
the financial year.
These refinancing actions are net
debt neutral, improve the Group's liquidity by c£295m, and extend
the maturity date of the Group's debt (replacing the bank loan due
2026 with term loans due 2028/2029).
The net impact of the re-pricing and
add-on does not change the previously guided5 cash
interest costs for the current financial year. However, with
economic forecasts indicating a slower rate of interest rate
reduction, we are taking a more conservative view of interest costs
for the balance of the year. As a result, our revised guidance for
cash interest for FY24 is now c£265m5. The P&L
interest charge, adjusting for IFRS16 interest and fee
amortisation6, is expected to be c£285m.
Notes:
(1) The outstanding principal amount under
Facility B2 (USD) as at today's date (and prior to the add-on) is
USD1,740m
(2) +/- 25bps if Leverage, as defined in the
Senior Facilities Agreement dated 7 July 2021, is greater than 3x /
less than 2x
(3) Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR),
subject to a 0.5% floor
(4) Subject to a 0% floor
(5) Guidance on 07 March 2024 was £255m cash
interest costs on debt
(6) The write-off of unamortised capitalised fees
from original debt issuance results in lower than previously
expected fee amortisation and a one-off non-cash interest expense
of £50m in separately disclosed items
Enquiries:
About Entain plc
Entain plc (LSE: ENT) is a FTSE100
company and is one of the world's largest sports betting and gaming
groups, operating both online and in the retail sector. The Group
owns a comprehensive portfolio of established brands; Sports brands
include BetCity, bwin, Coral, Crystalbet, Eurobet, Ladbrokes, Neds,
Sportingbet, Sports Interaction, STS, SuperSport and TAB NZ; Gaming
brands include Foxy Bingo, Gala, GiocoDigitale, Ninja Casino,
Optibet, Partypoker and PartyCasino. The Group owns proprietary
technology across all its core product verticals and in addition to
its B2C operations provides services to a number of third-party
customers on a B2B basis.
The Group has a 50/50 joint venture,
BetMGM, a leader in sports betting and iGaming in the US. Entain
provides the technology and capabilities which power BetMGM as well
as exclusive games and products, specially developed at its
in-house gaming studios. The Group is tax resident in the UK and is
the only global operator to exclusively operate in domestically
regulated or regulating markets operating in over 30
territories.
Entain is a leader in ESG, a member
of FTSE4Good, the DJSI and is AA rated by MSCI. The Group has set a
science-based target, committing to be carbon net zero by 2035 and
through the Entain Foundation supports a variety of initiatives,
focusing on safer gambling, grassroots sport, diversity in
technology and community projects. For more information see the
Group's website: www.entaingroup.com.
LEI: 213800GNI3K45LQR8L28