COLUMBUS International, parent of local cable company Flow, says proceeds from the US$450- million corporate bond offering it issued last year will fund the firm’s continued Caribbean-Latin America expansion plans, including its all-island network build out in Jamaica.

On November 20, 2009, Columbus closed the issuance of the corporate bond offering of senior secured notes. The bonds were issued on a five-year, non-call-for-life basis and were sold with a 11.5 per cent coupon and priced at par.

The transaction was lead by Citi Group with RBC Capital Markets and Standard Bank acting as joint book-running managers. The bonds were sold following a deal road show conducted by management in London, Boston, New York, Toronto, San Francisco and Los Angeles from November 4 to 12, 2009. To facilitate the bond offering, Columbus successfully amended its US$135,000,000 senior secured credit facilities in Trinidad and Grenada. Columbus also redeemed US$35,000,000 of convertible preferred shares.

Commenting on the transactions, Columbus CEO Brendan Paddick stated “The successful closing of this significant financing is a true milestone in Columbus’ history…we understand it to represent the largest inaugural bond offering ever completed by a private company in the region. In essence, the public markets have spoken and have validated both Columbus’ vision and its business plan. With the offering being approximately two times oversubscribed, Columbus has attracted a stable of world-class financial sponsors to work with our company as we continue to aggressively expand and invest in the Caribbean and Latin American marketplace. Columbus is truly poised for future growth and continued network investment.”

Commenting on the impact of the sale of bonds for Jamaica specifically, Michele English, president and chief operating officer of Flow, stated that this latest development by Columbus means that Flow’s investment and network build out in Jamaica will continue on track, despite current challenging economic circumstance currently being experienced on the island. “This latest development means that we will be able to keep our commitment to the Jamaican people to continue to do our part to help ensure that Jamaica becomes the hub of broadband communications in the region”.

According to English, Flow will continue to press forward with its build-out plans this year to ensure the delivery of its digital cable, landline and Internet.