Telewest rescue postponed

NEWS Bondholders have stalled debt-ridden Telewest's £3.5bn rescue plan – by demanding more than 97 per cent of the company. The company has been working on a debt-for-shares deal since last September. Back then it promised existing shareholders that they would hang on to three per cent of the shares. Until this week, it thought that it could deliver that promise to its AGM on Thursday. But now a powerful minority of bondholders are holding out for more than 97 per cent of the company. They are led by Bill Huff, owner of a New Jersey hedge fund. He is fresh from a deal which brought him three seats on the board of NTL in January, when that cable company did its debt-for-equity swap. The Telewest deal could now be delayed for several weeks or even months by extensive negotiations. Shareholders are unlikely to receive more than one per cent of the new company shares. The funds that Huff represents are thought to control 10-20 per cent of Telewest's debt. His own fund is the largest shareholder of rival cable company NTL.