Nine Entertainment meets with lenders on debt repayment
Nine Entertainment’s private equity owner, CVC Asia Pacific, has taken steps to refinance the company's A$3.6 billion ($3.8 billion) in debt, The Australian reported. This comes as Adrian MacKenzie, CVC's Australia head, starts preliminary negotiations with the creditors to develop a manageable repayment strategy.
According to the report, the A$2.8 billion ($3 billion) in senior debt and the A$800 million ($857 million) mezzanine debt could be renegotiated in the coming months. This structure may see lenders take fees from Nine's operational rollover and will likely to earn a higher interest rate.
CVC first invested in Nine's former company, PBL, in 2006 via a 50-50 joint venture with Consolidated Media Holdings. In late 2007, CVC bought an additional 25% stake in PBL for approximately A$530 million ($568 million), giving it majority control. In January, PBL announced the appointment David Gyngell, former head of Nine Network, as its CEO following Ian Law's resignation.
At the time, media stoked suspicions that Nine would launch a multi-billion-dollar IPO, even going as far to say that Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and UBS were appointed advisers for the offering. However, company executives have consistently denied immediate listing plans amid uncertain market conditions.
In March, Nine Entertainment jettisoned its 49% stake in CarSales.com for a reported A$565.5 million ($606 million) to institutional investors in order to raise capital. That sale represented a 6% discount to CarSales.com's last closing price at the time.
Nine Entertainment operates the second-ranking domestic TV network and owns a 50% stake in ninemsn.
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