Viacom Sets $1.3B Sale of Senior Notes

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Viacom said it agreed to sell $1.3 billion worth of senior notes in order to pay off existing, expiring debt obligations.

The ailing media company recently cut its dividend to conserve cash. National Amusements, Sumner and Shari Redstone’s family holding company that controls Viacom, having ousted long-time Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman, is encouraging the company to discuss merging with CBS, which it also controls.

The new debt includes $400 million in notes due in 2022 that pay 2.25% interest and $900 million in senior notes due 2026 that pay 3.45% interest.

The notes that will be paid off include $400 million in notes paying 2.5% due December 2016 and $500 million in notes due April 2007 that pay 3.5%.

 Viacom's senior unsecured debt is currently rated BBB- (negative) by S&P Global Ratings, BBB (negative) by Fitch Ratings, and Baa3 (stable) by Moody's Investors Service.

(Photo via Ervins Strauhmanis's Flickr. Image taken on Sept. 19, 2014 and used per Creative Commons 2.0 license. The photo was cropped to fit 3x4 aspect ratio.)

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.