Lenders ‘will reject debt plan’ for CVC-backed Nine

Any renegotiation of the terms of Nine's A$2.6 billion ($2.59 billion) in senior loans is instead unlikely to take shape until nearer to the February 2013 repayment deadline, according to The Australian.

The meeting on Friday saw CVC ask for a two-and-a-half-year extension on refinancing the debt, during which time the private equity firm could come up with a way of restructuring the loans or even experience an upsurge in advertising revenues in the Australian television sector. In exchange, lenders are thought to have been offered an upfront fee and a higher interest rate.

Reuters reported that the more than 80 lenders have four weeks to make their decision, with a two thirds majority required to approve the changes.

The lenders - of which hedge funds hold 20-40% of the debt - also received a quarterly update on the progress of Nine.

This news comes despite Nine posting an EBITDA of A$414.9 million for the year ending June 2011, up 16.4% on the previous year, and telling lenders back in July that EBITDA for the coming year should stand at around $430 million. The July meeting also represented CVC's most recent known attempt to refinance the debt pile. It was thought at the time that Nine's A$800 million mezzanine debt - due in April 2014 - could also be renegotiated in the ensuing months.

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• Topics
• Restructuring
• Australasia
• Media
• CVC Capital Partners
• Australia
• Structured finance
• TMT