Charter Communications Debt Offering, Really More Refinancing (CHTR)

Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) is actually managing to trade higher despite a securities offering.  The company offered $750 million in senior unsecured notes, but it has also announced a tender offer for debt securities.

The subsidiaries of CCO Holdings and CCO Holdings Capital offered the $750 million of senior unsecured notes due 2020.  BofA Merrill Lynch is the lead book-running manager for the offering. The debt tendered in the offering is as follows:

• 8.000% Senior Second Lien Notes due 2012
• 10.875% Senior Second Lien Notes due 2014
• 13.500% Senior Notes due 2016

Charter’s re-emerged shares have performed rather well since the early-2010 exit from bankruptcy.  The cable outfit shed about $8 billion in debt and lowered its costs of borrowing significantly. Now it has seen revenues growing, although its profitability continues to remain a struggle as the consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters is -$2.97 EPS for 2011 and and only $0.87 EPS for 2012.  At the end of 2008, Charter’s long-term debt was over $21 billion.  As of September 30, 2011, the new long-term debt was listed as $12.58 billion. 

Shares were trading as low as $30 after the former creditors started unloading the new shares in early 2010, but this stock was challenging $60.00 earlier this year.  Shares are up 1.6% at $53.50 today and the 52-week range is $32.83 to $61.15.