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Business News Media
iHeartMedia extends debt renegotiation deadline again
By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 30 May 2017
US radio giant iHeartMedia – which also operates the iHeartRadio streaming platform of course – last week announced an “extension of private offers to holders of its five series of priority guarantee notes and its senior notes due 2021 to exchange such notes for new securities”. What an exciting time to be in the radio business! Get that on a t-shirt please.
As previously reported, the broadcaster is trying to restructure its mountain of debt via a proposed ‘exchange offer’. The mega-debts are mainly the result of a $24 billion private equity buyout of the media firm in 2008. As talks with iHeart’s money-lenders continued, last month the company raised concerns about its “ability to continue as a going concern”, a statement which sparked much chatter about possible bankruptcy.
iHeart has now postponed the deadline for money-lenders to take up the exchange offer a number of times. Last week a new deadline of 9 Jun was set.
It’s thought that most of the finance firms iHeart is busy negotiating with are still holding out for a better offer from the broadcaster. Though iHeart management may well be hoping that the creditors will ultimately play ball, given that it’s not really in anyone’s interest for the company to go into chapter eleven bankruptcy.
