Cablevision To Seek Refinancing For Some Debt Maturities
July 30 2009 - 11:28AM
Dow Jones News
Gregg Siebert, executive vice president of Cablevision, said
Thursday the company is "comfortable" with its debt levels but it
will seek to refinance some upcoming debt maturities in the months
ahead as interest rates become more favorable.
Cablevision had $11.8 billion in debt outstanding at the end of
its second quarter, and its debt load has been a prime concern for
investors since the global financial crisis shook Wall Street.
"The bigger concern is making sure we get our maturity schedule
in order, so we're confident we can effectively refinance," said
Siebert on a conference call with analysts following its
second-quarter earnings release. "We're confident we can refinance
today but it would be prudent for us" to explore refinancing some
debt scheduled to mature in 2011, 2012 and 2013 as interest rates
become more attractive.
Siebert said the company doesn't anticipate adding to the debt
load carried by its MSG business as the company seeks to spin off
the unit, but it's confident MSG's balance sheet could handle more
leverage.
-By Nat Worden, Dow Jones Newswires; (212) 416-2472;
nat.worden@dowjones.com