Private equity company KKR & Co gave a fresh USD 300 million investment in First Data Corp. The cash, which was given together with the company's co-investors, would help the payment processing company refinance its existing debt. Both senior payable-in-kind (PIK) notes worth USD 1.4 billion and the cash would be used to refinance First Data's USD 2 billion loan that would expire on 2016. The new PIK notes would be due on 2019 and would carry 14.5% percent coupon compared to the previous PIK notes which had a coupon of 11.5%.
In a statement, First Data said that in return for the investment, KKR and the other stakeholders would get new convertible preferred equity in the company.
First Data Chief Executive Officer Frank Bisignano said the transaction allowed the company to take care of the debt the company had carried starting in 2007. Bisignano said, "While the company has successfully extended the maturities for some $21 billion of debt through the second quarter of this year, this agreement allows us to address the junior-most of the debt structure and an element that has been of interest to investors."
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