LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Digital 9 Infrastructure announced a binding agreement to sell its interest in the EMIC-1 subsea cable project for $42m on Tuesday, with completion expected by March.

The London-listed firm said the transaction price, net of $2.6m in transaction costs, reflected a 15% discount to the project's June valuation of $49.6m.

It said the decision to divest came as ongoing conflicts in the Red Sea region had indefinitely delayed the project's final construction.

The sale would also release D9 from $10m in future construction commitments.

Proceeds from the transaction would be used to reduce the company's £53m revolving credit facility balance.

D9 said it was in discussions with lenders to extend the facility's maturity date beyond 31 March, with additional repayments expected from parallel asset sales.

D9 added that it was in advanced talks to sell its AquaComms subsea cable business, with updates expected shortly.

The valuation process for the broader portfolio as of 31 December was underway, with the company planning to engage with shareholders through a roadshow early in the new year.

"The sale of EMIC-1 represents a key milestone for progressing the wind-down of the company and deleveraging the balance sheet, on behalf of shareholders, achieving what the board believes is an acceptable value outcome in a challenging environment," said chairman Eric Sanderson.

"We remain focused on taking every action possible to realise shareholder value over time, seeking to achieve a balance between maximizing the value from our assets and making timely capital returns to shareholders."

At 1218 GMT, shares in Digital 9 Infrastructure were up 4.42% at 18.9p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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