Reed Elsevier is close to securing a “forward-start agreement” to extend about $2bn of loan debt by three years. The Financial Times reports that the deal, which is expected to close in the next few weeks, will see Reed pay up to 225 basis points more than the London interbank rate to lending banks including Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland. Reed has about $5bn of debt to refinance before 2012 and “must repay $2bn of ChoicePoint acquisition financing in March 2010 and $2.2bn a year later.” Reed’s $3bn committed back-up bank lines expire in May 2010. Meanwhile, the […]
