Yell set to take 3.8bn debt restructure to court
TROUBLED directories publisher Yell will today say that it is prepared to ask the courts to push through the restructuring of its £3.8bn debt mountain, after it failed to secure agreement from enough of its lenders.
Yell had until 5pm last night to get the required 95 per cent support from its 300 lenders for a restructuring plan, which includes a rights issue of at least £500m.
Sources close to the company say that the response to the proposals has been “overwhelmingly positive”, with around 90 per cent of lenders signing up to the plans that will extend Yell’s debt maturity to 2014.
But if Yell doesn’t get the remaining five per cent on board, it is prepared to opt for a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement that needs the backing of just 75 per cent of lenders to push through a deal.