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Creditors approve $3.4b recapitalisation for Nine

Nine will carry debt of $700 million under a new capital structure approved by its creditors yesterday.

Nine-LogoNine Entertainment’s lenders have approved the company’s $3.4 billion recapitalisation, according to The Australian.

A meeting at Macquarie Group’s headquarters in Sydney yesterday, was chaired by Nine chairman Peter Bush.

The new capital structure of Nine will carry debt of $700 million, which was raised in New York this month and was well supported by US debt investors.

The scheme of arrangement will go before the Federal Court on January 29 and is expected to be approved.

Nine Entertainment Co. has proposed a new board expected to be chaired by Australian media executive David Haslingden, the former president and chief operating officer of FOX Networks Group in Los Angeles.

It will include three independent directors: former federal treasurer Peter Costello, former NineMSN head Joe Pollard, and former chief of Southern Star Hugh Marks.

The board is also expected to include CEO David Gyngell, along with two representatives from the new owners, US debt investors Apollo Global Management and Oaktree Capital Management.

Nine will effectively be controlled by US hedge funds, Apollo and Oaktree, which will end up with 37.4 per cent of Nine’s equity under the deal.

Nine’s directors will consider an initial public offering within 18 months.

Monday’s vote formally ends private equity firm CVC Asia-Pacific’s stewardship of Nine and crystallises its $1.9 billion investment loss.

Additional sources: smh.com.au,  SKY News

7 Responses

  1. So, now Nine only has to find around $200,000 per day in interest payments – not to mention capital repayment. In October D.Gyngell claimed he had just “paid the house off”. Lol.

  2. I’m guessing that the Federal Court decision next Tuesday is what formally ends CVC’s bold experiment in TV.

    Nine will then have just over a week to sort out the paperwork since the next debt payment was due Feb. 7th.

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