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iQera bondholders sign co-op agreement ahead of French process
Bianca Boorer
•4 min read
iQera’s bondholders have signed a co-op agreement as the French debt collector gears up to start discussions through a French process, sources close told 9fin. This is the second French company to have creditors signing a co-op agreement after Altice France’s creditors signed one in April.
The group is being advised by Houlihan Lokey and Gibson Dunn. The group holds a sizeable amount of both the group’s 2024 and 2027 bonds, one of the sources said.
The deadline for bondholders and RCF lenders to vote on whether the company can enter into a mandat ad hoc or conciliation proceeding was today (28 June) at 5pm Paris time. The deadline for the consent solicitation has been extended a few times since its initial launch on 10 May, according to company releases.
The bondholder group is not against the company starting a process as there isn’t really any alternatives at this stage, the source close said.
On 22 April, the company said it was working with advisors and its shareholders to assess options for its capital structure on its FY 23 earnings call. iQera is being advised by Rothschild, Latham & Watkins and Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier, as reported.
The group’s largest shareholder BC Partners is being advised by White & Case. BC Partners holds a 71.3% position and Montefiore has a minority 13.85% stake.
The group has two stub SSNs amounting to €98m maturing in September and €500m of SSNs maturing in 2027.
The largest holder of the 2024 notes among European CLOs is Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) followed by Bain, Credit Suisse Asset Management (CSAM) and Cairn Capital, as reported. In the 2027 notes the largest is CSAM, followed by Bain, Tikehau, ICG, Blackstone, M&G, Alcentra and Chenavari.
Since April, iQera’s bonds due 2024 have fallen 25.5 points to 72.5-mid, while its notes due 2027 have dropped 21.3 points to 62-mid today, according to 9fin’s data.
iQera’s capital structure is below:
In Q1 24, iQera’s liquidity dwindled by €17m over the quarter to €151m due to mounting co-investors’ debt repayment on top of its existing cost of debt, according to the presentation. Revenues in the quarter rose by 4% year over year (YoY) to €73m and EBITDa rose by 12% YoY to €34m, driven by higher collections and cost reductions.
