作者：Irene García Pérez、Reshmi Basu和Chris Dolmetsch。Cable One的贷款方CoBank ACB于周五提起诉讼，试图阻止Cable One收购私募股权公司GTCR所持有的Mega Broadband Investments 55%的股权。
By Irene García Pérez, Reshmi Basu and Chris Dolmetsch Lender CoBank ACB filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to block Cable One Inc. from acquiring a 55% equity stake in Mega Broadband Investments from private equity firm GTCR.
据悉，CoBank向Cable One提供了约11亿美元的担保贷款。该银行请求纽约联邦法官发布紧急禁令，以阻止Cable One拨付约4.8亿美元用于此次收购。诉状指出，Cable One此前曾表示该部分股权的价值远低于此金额，甚至可能毫无价值；按照常规估值方法计算，该公司目前已处于资不抵债的状态。
CoBank, which says it holds about $1.1 billion in secured credit issued by Cable One, asked a federal judge in New York to issue an emergency restraining order to prevent the cable operator from transferring about $480 million for the acquisition of Mega Broadband. According to the complaint, Cable One had disclosed in the past that the equity is worth a fraction of that amount, if not worthless, and the company is “currently insolvent based on standard valuation methodologies.”
CoBank认为，这笔资金的流出将进一步加剧Cable One的财务困境，使其在巨额债务压力下可动用的资产大幅缩水。目前，Cable One、CoBank及GTCR三方均未对相关询问作出回应。
The lender said the transfer of funds would make Cable One “sink deeper into insolvency and make its remaining assets unreasonably small given its already large debts.”Representatives for Cable One, CoBank and GTCR didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
今年初，GTCR行使了卖出期权，决定出售其持有的Mega Broadband Investments 55%的股权，Cable One随即决定收购。目前该交易需在10月9日前完成。为筹措收购资金，Cable One正计划筹集12.5亿美元的新贷款，这笔资金将以优先担保定期贷款的形式发放，由现有及新加入的投资者共同出资，这一消息此前已由彭博社报道。
Cable One has been seeking new debt with urgency since the start of the year, when it agreed to acquire the 55% stake in Mega Broadband Investments from GTCR after the private equity firm exercised a put option to sell its share. The cable operator faces an Oct. 9 deadline to complete the purchase. The cable company is finalizing a deal for $1.25 billion in new debt to meet that commitment, structured as a first-lien term loan, with existing lenders as well as new investors putting in money, Bloomberg previously reported.
CoBank在诉状中强调，Cable One在监管申报材料中曾承认该部分股权的估值仅为5400万美元左右，因此该公司完全清楚此次收购的定价与其实际价值严重不符。本案案号为CoBank ACB诉Cable One，编号26-cv-8935，由纽约南区联邦地方法院受理。
In regulatory filings, Cable One has acknowledged the equity is worth about $54 million, CoBank argued in the lawsuit. “Cable One is therefore aware and has confirmed to the investing public that the put price is grossly disproportionate to the value of the MBI equity Cable One received in exchange.”The case is CoBank ACB v Cable One, 26-cv-8935, US District Court, Southern District of New York.