Manchester-based telecoms group TalkTalk is set to receive a £200m-plus capital injection from founder Sir Charles Dunstone and other key existing shareholders as it continues to seek new sources of funding.
The company’s annual report has warned of an imminent collapse if new funding cannot be found, according to a report in The Sunday Telegraph yesterday. Key lenders and their advisers will hold talks this week about plans for founder Sir Charles Dunstone and other shareholders to inject the new funding.
TalkTalk is one of Britain’s biggest broadband providers, with around 3.6m customers.
If it goes ahead, the £200m injection from Sir Charles, Toscafund and Ares Management would come packaged with a new deal with the group’s lending banks.
Separate discussions with Macquarie, the Australian banking giant, about a larger investment for TalkTalk’s wholesale network business, PlatformX, are continuing but have yet to reach a conclusion.
James Smith, TalkTalk’s chief financial officer, told debt investors during a results call last week: “We anticipate agreement on new capital investment into the business in the near future, and discussions to achieve that are ongoing. Engagement continues with a potential new investor, together with potential new lenders. At the same time, the group’s existing shareholders have confirmed their intent to provide new funding of over £200m into the group to support working capital and operational costs.”
