Digicel has reached out to bondholders of US$925 million of overdue debt asking them for consent to borrow more money which it intends to use as a bridge facility.

Details of the plan emerged on Wednesday with Digicel indicating that it has commenced a consent solicitation process under which it is seeking to borrow US$100 million under the bridge facility.

The filings did not indicate what, exactly, the money will be used for but it asked the bondholders to waive any default or event or default that might occur as a result of the company deciding to pursue the restructuring of its debt mountain.

This latest attempt to borrow additional monies comes as Digicel continues to hold talks with bondholders about restructuring its debt. The telco had US$925 million of bond debt to repay on March 1, but did not have enough money to redeem the bonds.

Just a day before the debts were due for repayment, Digicel announced that it had reached an agreement in principle with a group of bond creditors to swap US$1.8 billion of its borrowings for an equity stake in the business.

That deal could see Digicel’s owner Denis O’Brien’s stake in the entity falling to 10 per cent as a result, though he may see his holding increase again to as much as 20 per cent, should warrants attached as an incentive to the restructuring end up being exercised.

The company secured an initial 30-day grace period at the outset on the March 2023 bonds, as it sought to progress the wider debt overhaul plan in principle without a default event being triggered on the overdue borrowings. That period was extended by 15 days initially and then a further 15 days, which ends this weekend.