Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Yell Plc, the publisher of the U.K.’s Yellow Pages phone directory, said it will seek to raise at least 500 million pounds ($818 million) by selling shares after winning lender approval to restructure its debt.

Yell received support from creditors providing more than 95 percent of its loans, the threshold needed to proceed with the plan, it said in a statement. The Reading, England-based company, which extended the consent deadline three times, said it will now talk to major shareholders about the fundraising.

Yell started negotiations in June on plans to cut its net debt of 3.8 billion pounds ($6.2 billion). The company got the consent of more than 1,000 lenders for its proposals, the company said today. About 3 percent of debt holders couldn’t accept the plan, mainly due to restrictions in their fund rules, the company said last week.

“The stumbling block had been that just one of the debt providers had not been playing ball,” said Alex de Groote, an analyst at stockbroker Panmure Gordon & Co. Plc, who doesn’t have a recommendation on the shares. Yell will try and hold the fundraising this year, he said.

The share shale is part of Yell’s plan to restructure its debt by extending the maturity of its loans to 2014 and cutting borrowings by a further 300 million pounds. Yell said Sept. 23 it may raise the money for this by issuing high-yield bonds or through a rights offer.

Yell rose as much as 7.75 pence, or 15 percent, to 59 pence, and traded at 57.85 pence at 9:01 a.m. in London. The stock has dropped by a quarter since the company announced its refinancing plan in September, giving it a market value of 452 million pounds.

Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Holdings Plc and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are arranging the refinancing. The original consent deadline was Oct. 16.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jonathan Browning in London jbrowning9@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: November 2, 2009 04:53 EST