(Reuters) -British utility Thames Water said on Friday that it has proposed some changes to the terms of the funding at the heart of its rescue plan, with increased support from investors in its process to raise further equity.
The largest water supplier in the country has been on the brink of collapse since investors called it “uninvestable” earlier this year, refusing to pump in new cash, which put the government on standby for nationalisation.
To avert this, Thames Water has lined up 3 billion pounds ($3.8 billion) of funding from its creditors to go through the next two years, and is also in discussions with investors for new equity worth 3.25 billion pounds.
On Friday, the utility, which has 17 billion pounds in debt, proposed changes to how its agreed lifeline treats certain hedging agreements, outlining new terms around interest rates and other fees.
Thames Water said that creditors holding more than 75% of its Class A debt had backed the funding, adding that it expects support from over 75% of Interest Rate and Index Hedging Providers shortly, provided that changes to terms are approved.
The utility said it would need consent from at least 75% of all classes of secured debt to implement the proposed changes, and added that some creditors had already agreed in principle to those, while talks with the remaining investors are ongoing.
($1 = 0.7921 pounds)
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
