SINGAPORE-QUOTED telecoms group Global Voice, which was founded by Noel Meaney and an Irish management team, has virtually wiped out its debt in a $45 million financial restructuring.
US telecoms investment firm Columbia Capital has also taken a 15 per cent stake in the firm with the possibility of increasing its stake later.
“This transforms the company as it wipes out a huge amount of debt – up to $50 million – in one swoop,” said Mr Meaney. “We also don’t have any interest payments or repayments to service.”
Global Voice raised a series of convertible bonds in Singapore in 2007. It bought out the bonds due to mature this year at a 25 per cent discount on face value and 35 per cent of what Global Voice would have paid in full. It has also bought out most of the bonds which were due to mature in 2012 at a 45 per cent discount.
Mr Meaney said a lack of liquidity among the firm’s institutional investors meant they were more than happy to accept the discount.
Mr Meaney said Global Voice also has a commitment for a two-for-one rights issue from 57 per cent of its shareholders, which will take place in March. Columbia Capital will also participate in this fundraising.
“This will leave the company in an extremely strong position,” said Mr Meaney.
He said the firm will move into profitability this year.
Global Voice, which trades in Europe as EUNetworks, has one of the largest fibre-optic networks in Europe which links Germany, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Britain and Ireland with 5,400km of fibre.
Mr Meaney was chief executive of Metromedia Fibre Networks in Europe when the company went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2002.
Along with financier Chris Nightingale, he led the €60 million buyout of the European network which had been built at a cost of €650 million during the height of the dot com boom.
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