Corus Entertainment Is Watching for Windows in High-Yield Market
Esteban Duarte, 07 May 2021
Corus Entertainment Inc., which has produced shows led by actors such as Christopher Plummer, plans to take an opportunistic approach to U.S. and Canadian high-yield bond markets after a recent debt sale fetched strong investor demand, Chief Financial Officer John Gossling said.
The Toronto-based based firm sold C$500 million ($410.3 million) of seven-year unsecured bonds April 26 in the company’s first such deal since 2013. Proceeds are being used to reduce bank credit facilities, which are in the process of getting extended to May 2025, he said.
“With the bond and the bank deal having now a four-year term on it, we are pretty comfortable, so we don’t need to do anything, but I think we would be opportunistic,” Gossling said in a video interview. “We would think about doing something, could be in the U.S., could be in Canada.”
Corus, which operates 33 specialty television services, 39 radio stations and 15 conventional television stations across Canada, saw orders from 54 investors amount to about two times the deal’s size. Priced at par, the notes are quoted at around 101 Canadian cents on the dollar, according to Bloomberg Valuation bid prices.
Last month’s issuance prompted S&P to upgrade the secured bank debt to BBB-, its lowest investment-grade level. Because of lower levels of senior secured claims in the recovery waterfall, the ratings company said the recovery prospects for the senior secured debtholders should improve to 95% from 85%.
