Yell extends deadline for finance deal

Oct 28 2009 by Iain Laing, The Journal

STRUGGLING Yellow Pages firm Yell has said it has again extended the deadline to agree a refinancing deal for its £3.8bn debt.

The directories group has given lenders until 5pm today to approve its plans, having failed to win sufficient support by last night’s cut off time.

Yell had already extended the deadline by a week, but while the company has received backing from a high percentage of its 300 creditors, it needs to achieve a 95% approval rate by value to pass the scheme.

Yell wants to raise £500m through an investor cash-call to pay off some of its debt, while increasing the interest rate payable in return for an extension of the repayment date to 2014. The firm is also looking to reduce its long-term debt by a further £300m within 18 months by issuing bonds or equity.

But the route to an agreement has been challenging for the firm because of the sheer number of creditors involved and their lending committees.