Cable names picked up last week due in part to recent asset sales, which assigned high values to cable assets, noted traders. Bank debt for Charter Communications, Adelphia Communications Corp. and UGC Europe, the European broadband communications and entertainment company formerly known as United Pan-Europe Communications, rallied.
Charter's "B" loan ticked up to the 951Ž2- 96 range from the 94-95 context, where it was quoted two weeks ago. Charter has entered into an agreement to sell various cable television systems to Atlantic Broadband for about $765 million. The planned asset sale will provide for $3,200 per subscriber, said one trader (LMW, 9/29). A Charter spokesman noted that another recent asset sale garnered $3,600 per subscriber. The sales are all geographically non-strategic assets, which the company had said it would divest for the right price, he added.
The bank debt facilities under the wider Adelphia umbrella have been active. Market players said the company came out with stronger numbers in its August monthly operating report. The Century Cable loan, known as "Century old," traded as high as the 88-89 range up from the 85-87 context where the name changed hands late last month. In addition, loans without the Rigas co-borrowing relationship inched up about two points over the last month. Adelphia's Frontiervision credit facility changed hands as high as the 97-98 range and the Parnassos credit facility traded in the 95-96 context last week. These facilities do not have the co-borrowing legal issues attached and they also have extremely low leverage per subscriber, explained one trader. Vanessa Wittman, Adelphia's cfo, was traveling and could not be reached by press time.
Meanwhile, UGC Europe's U.S. denominated term loan held under the funding entity UPC Distribution Holding has climbed up to the 95-96 level from the 88-90 range since the company emerged from bankruptcy on Sept. 3. Recently, Standard & Poor's revised the company's credit status to positive from developing to reflect the emergence. A UGC spokesman could not be reached by press time.