By Aled Herbert, 11 January 2002 10:10
NEWS NTL has called in Credit Suisse First Boston to advise it on the best strategy for restructuring its $17bn debt. Shareholders and industry watchers alike have cast doubts recently about the cable provider's ability to pay off its considerable debt mountain. A cash-for-equity swap is thought to be the most likely scenario for the company. A full-scale restructuring is expected to take at least 12 months to complete, the FT reports. NTL was denied key vendor financing just before Christmas, endangering its attempts to extend its cash reserves beyond the next 12 months. The company had already received $250m from suppliers such as Cisco and Nortel, but failed to get any more money from Pace and IBM, to whom the cable operator outsources its IT. The company faced a barrage of criticism in the same month after it gave US telephony and internet company CoreComm $15m - shareholders were furious that NTL chiefs George Blumenthal and Barclay Knapp hold roles on the CoreComm board. Earlier in December, investment bank Goldman Sachs predicted that NTL would run out of money halfway through 2002.
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