Altice kicks off process to extend maturing loans, increase pricing - memo

By Chiara Elisei

LONDON (Reuters) - Telecommunications firm Altice France on Thursday launched a process to extend its existing loans maturing between 2025 and 2026 to August 2028, according to a memo seen by Reuters.

The move is a sign that big companies are trying to take advantage of improved market sentiment and investor appetite to refinance debt well before existing loans mature.

Altice France's outstanding loans consist of a total of $6.070 billion and 2.145 billion euros ($2.32 billion).

In return for the maturity extension, the global cable, communication and entertainment company will increase the margins it currently pays on the loans to 5.5% over Euribor/ Sonia, the memo said.

An investor call is scheduled for Thursday at 1630 GMT.

European investors are able to submit their commitments to the new loans by Jan. 25 and U.S. investors by Jan. 25.

BNP Paribas and Goldman Sachs are leading the efforts for the European loans, while JP Morgan is leading the U.S. deal, the memo said.

Other banks involved in the deal include Barclays, CA-CIB, Natixis, Societe Generale, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citi, Deutsche Bank, ING and RBC.

($1 = 0.9246 euros)

(Reporting by Chiara Elisei; Editing by Dhara Ranasinghe)