Announcement
PLAY ANNOUNCES SIGNING OF SENIOR FACILITIES AGREEMENT
Warsaw, Mar. 8, 2017 – P4 Sp. z o.o. (“Play”), trading as Play, today announced that it entered into a PLN 7 billion senior facilities agreement dated 7 March 2017 with, among others, Alior Bank Spółka Akcyjna, Bank Zachodni WBK S. A., BNP Paribas S.A., DNB Bank ASA, DNB Bank Polska S.A., PKO Bank Polski SA, TFI PZU SA (on behalf of PZU FIZ AN BIS 2 and PZU SFIO Universum) and Raiffeisen Bank International AG as mandated lead arrangers. The senior facilities agreement provide for term loan facilities which will be used to refinance the outstanding debt of the group and a revolving credit facility.
PLAY ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF HOLGER PÜCHERT AS CFO
Play also announced today that Holger Püchert, the former Chief Financial Officer of Versatel, Berlin / Düsseldorf, in a planned transition will join Play as its new Chief Financial Officer effective March 9, 2017. To help ensure a smooth transition, Mr. Püchert will work closely with the company’s current CFO Robert Bowker, who will remain with the company in an advisory capacity through March.
Mr. Püchert comes to Play with significant financial executive experience in the telecom sector. He served as CFO of Kabel BW GmbH, CFO of Orange Austria Telecommunication GmbH (formerly ONE GmbH) and Vice President for M&A Projects at E.ON AG. Most recently he served as CFO of Versatel GmbH, Berlin / Düsseldorf.
Mr. Püchert is a native of Germany and a graduate of the University of Karlsruhe (KIT), where he studied Business Engineering (Diplom-Wirtschaftsingenieur), following his apprenticeship at Deutsche Bank in Düsseldorf. He also earned a doctorate in Economics from the University of Karlsruhe (KIT), where he worked as a research assistant.
„It is extremely exciting to join a company that has not only been phenomenally successful, but also has the potential for significant growth for many years to come. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to serve Play’s customers, teammates, community and shareholders,” said Mr. Püchert.
„We are excited to have Holger join our growing business and to have someone with his depth of experience in the telecoms industry join our team,” said Jørgen Bang-Jensen, CEO of Play. „We are very thankful to Robert Bowker for his significant contributions and stewardship of the Play business over the years and we give Robert our best wishes in his future endeavors.”
About Play
P4 Sp. z o.o., trading as Play, is a consumer-focused mobile network operator in Poland with 14.4 million subscribers as of December 31, 2016. Play provides mobile voice, messaging, video and data offerings and services to consumers and businesses (in particular to small office/home office subscribers and small/medium enterprises) on a contract and prepaid basis under our umbrella brand “PLAY”. Play provides these services, available to 99% of the population, via an extensive, modern and cost-efficient 2G/3G/4G LTE telecommunications network complemented by long-term national roaming agreements with the other three major Polish mobile network operators.
Forward Looking Statements
Some of the statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts, such as statements regarding our future financial condition or results of operations, our prospects and strategies for future growth, the implementation of our marketing and branding strategies, and the future benefits and opportunities from acquisitions. In many cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as „may,” „will,” „should,” „expects,” „plans,” „anticipates,” „believes,” „estimates,” „predicts,” „outlook,” „potential” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release reflect our current views about future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and changes in circumstances that may cause events or our actual activities or results to differ significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future events, results, actions, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Important risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to: the effects of changes in the economic, political and social framework in which we operate; high levels of competition in the telecommunications market and our ability to attract new subscribers and retain existing subscribers; our national roaming agreements; our ability to respond to rapid technological changes and corresponding changes in consumer preferences on a timely basis; the necessity of continuous maintenance and upgrade of our existing networks and their proper functioning; the capital intensive nature of our business and the future liquidity required to fund our capital expenditure programs and operations; operational network infrastructure and base site locations, including our information and telecommunications technology systems; the impact of alleged decreased wireless communications usage, litigation or stricter regulation and related health risks of wireless communications devices; the effectiveness of our distribution network; our dependence on third parties for provision of certain services and risks related to disruptions in the supply of such services; the limited availability and disputes over the allocation of radio frequency spectrums; currency exchange rate fluctuations; the loss or inability to attract experienced management and skilled employees; labor disruptions or increased labor costs; the status and outcome of disputes and pending litigation; alleged health risks of wireless communications devices leading to decreased usage or difficulty in obtaining sites for base stations and the maintenance of the reputation of our brand and our key intellectual property rights. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release reflect our views and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
This announcement shall not constitute an offer for sale of securities in any jurisdiction.
Address for notices:
P4 Sp. z o.o.
7 Tasmowa St.
02-677 Warsaw
Poland
ir@play.pl
Phone: +48 22 319 43 19
Phone: +48 22 319 40 00