Denis O’Brien
…Moody’s, one of the world’s main credit ratings firms, has said that it’s Caa1 rating for the Digicel group, which is seven levels deep into “junk” territory, “reflects its high leverage and untenable capital structure, with the company still facing large debt maturities in the coming years and a weakening liquidity profile”…
…Ratings firm Fitch said that the push by the “controlling shareholder” – Mr O’Brien – to restructure Digicel’s debt, rather than raise additional equity or speed up asset sales, as well as the company’s move to subordinate certain bondholders as part of the bond exchange, will have consequences…
Gulp.
Digicel’s riskiest new bonds start trading at 50% discount (Irish Times)
Rollingnews
Here’s the report.
https://www.fitchratings.com/site/pr/10059495
Thanks, Johnny.
…looks like Denis may have to seek the last resort…run for President…
Not at all, won’t he casually run into Leo at Davos next week and won’t the €3 billion National Broadband Plan be awarded to him the following week. Fire avoided. Nuts saved. Ta, FG!
As acting CEO he won’t have time for any that,one the key demands in this extend and pretend deal,was no payments of any kind to DOB or any afflicated companies.
However,now that he appointed himself CEO,for example can his travel expenses (as CEO) now be expensed,prior to appointing himself CEO-no.
Liquidity is the key.
‘Weak Liquidity: Fitch considers the group’s liquidity to be inadequate given the small cash cushion relative to debt burden and the persistently negative FCF. Interest expenses are expected to continue consuming most of operating income. As of Sept. 30, 2018, Digicel had USD258 million of readily available cash and equivalents, compared with USD241 million of current debt and accrued interest.’
“Fitch considers the group’s liquidity to be inadequate ”
“Inadequate”?????
World class understatement when Digicel only has $17 million left and, notwithstanding disposals of essential assets, they’re still haemorrhaging $cash.
Its corporate speak in that a ‘hold’ recommendation is sell, sell,sell it quick:)
Will track down the Moody’s report post the good bits,out and about this morning, need be at desk to log in.
It’s simply bananas that Denis and Digicel can’t raise the capital to retire these bonds at a 50% discount-that tells you all you need know.Malone (liberty/flow) is sidelined for now,buying Millicom which has a footprint in Africa and South America leaving no logical buyer.
Digicel’s is simply drowning in debt, not cash flow positive, the burn rate will take then into BK unless a buyer emerges.
He’ll probably be taking time out of his busy schedule to attend Davos next week. He’ll get the chance to have a fondue with Leo, Paschal and Simon before chillin’ with Prince William and eh, Will.I.Am.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/everything-you-need-to-know-about-davos-2019/
Will.I.Am is the new Bono!
Of course what you probably meant was Raclette, it’s a common mistake!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raclette
Eh, no I didn’t.
The 7.125% 2022 bonds trading at 48c in the dollar today. Fancy a punt? Buy a $1.00 face value bond this morning for 48c. Denis will pay you 7.125c in September 2019,2020,2021 and 2022, a total of 28.5c interest. Denis will also give you back $1.00 in September 2022. A return of 170% in 3.75 years. Sound too good to be true? He’s good for it, he’s Ireland/Malta’s richest man you know.
don’t worry, dem blushirts will always have redacteds’ back
Hopefully they can give him a bit of a digout.
Is the Fine Gael government going to step in as usual to save a fat friend?
+ Siteserv
+ 2nd mobile phone licence
+ liquidating IBRC and allowing him buy his loans back
+ Water Metering
+ National Broadband Plan
-the hand out of over half a million 500,000 by FG (Irish Aid) enabled all this, while people sleep in doorways and the streets,Irelands ‘richest’ man’s charity gets over HALF A MILLION cash from FG….
16-483,690
17-126,993
“Front Line Defenders Executive Director, Andrew Anderson and Chair of the FLD Board, Denis O’Brien were at the ceremony at the UN Headquarters in New York this evening.”-RTE
the accounts are an absolute disgrace, why FG continues support this with hundreds thousand of your money is absolutely scandalous.
https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/sites/default/files/front_line_defenders_-_audited_accounts_2017.pdf
Do you think Ireland should stop funding all charities? or only the ones that Denis O Brien set up?
Definitely need to take a good hard look at what qualifies as charities anyway.
Front page of Financial Statements-WTF changing a companys ‘status’ confuses and makes comparisons/analysis almost impossible,why did they change from a ‘trust’ to a private co.
But Irish Aid keeps pumping your money into this-why ?
“Front Line Defenders successfully completed its transition from Trust to Company Status on 1st April 2017. Front Line Defenders 2017 audited accounts – attached – therefore comprise of two components, the first covering the period where Front Line Defenders continued to operate as a Trust (01 January 2017 – 31 March 2017) and the second covering the period as a Private Company Limited by Guarantee (01 April 2017 – 31 December 2017).”
You’ve forgotten the INM debt write-off €138 million.
Charity begins at home Cian-Dennis O’Brien and Les Buckley are heavily involved in the ongoing investigation at INM regarding data/spooks/journalists at INM.
How does FG reconcile FLD’s mission statement with the overwhelming evidence that many irish journalists careers have been adversely affected by covering DOB ?
-Front Line Defenders is a member of the Journalists in Distress (JID) Network, a group of 18 international organizations that provide direct assistance to journalists and media workers whose lives or careers are threatened because of their work-
https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/who-we-are
Irelands richest man should fund his own charitable endeavors,its absolutely outrageous that FG has given over half a million of your money to a ‘charity’ who’s mission statement is the protection of journalists, while inspectors are in INM,looking into the very thing FDL got over 500,000 from FG to do !
I’m going to take that as you have a problem with D O’B having a state-funded charity.
Not at all Cian,its great that the ‘richest’ man in Ireland who’s not tax resident gets over half a million from the state via FG for his charitable endeavors.
The money goes to protecting journalists in far flung places, while the Irish state funds investigators into INM in which he’s the majority shareholder, who are looking into spooks snooping around journalists emails,data breaches of individuals linked to the Moritary Tribunal-why would anyone have problems with that,its been normalized by FG!
“moodys” will be hearing from at least one of [he who must not be named]’s legion of lawyers very soon!