Cell C says it will continue to work proactively with all stakeholders to improve its liquidity, debt profile and long-term competitiveness as part of its turnaround strategy.<\/p>\n
While a new recapitalisation is being negotiated, there is an informal debt standstill and debt payments have been suspended, majority shareholder Blue Label Telecoms said in a statement on Tuesday (4 August).<\/p>\n
“Although Cell C’s lenders are entitled to call up the entire debt owed, they have not accelerated debt payments and have held off on taking action in order to facilitate a commercial solution.<\/p>\n
“The non-payment is not a surprise to lenders that understand the Cell C turnaround strategy.<\/p>\n
“Good progress in a complex recapitalisation is being made. Discussions to seek alignment among all stakeholders are being held and term sheets will need to be concluded.”<\/p>\n
Blue Label said that a focused strategy and correctly capitalised balance sheet will lead to better leveraging of assets.<\/p>\n
It added that the local mobile market is in a mature phase, and the long term growth of the industry, in general, will be determined by the ability to deliver innovative service offerings, while assessing over-investment in capital hungry infrastructure.<\/p>\n
“There is belief in Cell C\u2019s long-term prospects, and the new leadership team is focused on the journey to turn the company into a profitable, innovative player in the local telecoms industry and is confident the organisation will overcome its challenges,” said Cell C chief executive, Douglas Craigie Stevenson.<\/p>\n