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Seven renegotiates debt terms

Seven has extended the period of time required to repay $450m of its $750m debt.

Seven West Media has amended its $750 million banking facilities with its existing lender group.

Seven has extended the period of time required to repay $450 million of its $750 million debt until the second half of 2022, and it has substituted banking covenants until 2021.

The arrangements will provide Seven with more certainty and it will also be able to use $250 million of the facility immediately.

But Seven will have to bear increased costs and pay upfront fees.

SWM Managing Director and CEO, James Warburton said: “We would like to thank our lenders for working with us to amend our facilities, for their continued confidence in our business and transformation strategy and for providing us funding certainty to enable us to implement that strategy over the next 18 months.”

Seven cites $150 million in asset sales to date, with TXA, Ventures, 7 Studios sales still to come.

“We are working tirelessly to transform both our television and newspaper businesses. While we are focused on achieving the lowest possible cost-base, our energy has been directed to driving audience and winning the content battle in both television and newspapers to deliver ratings, revenue and cash flow,” he added.

“Our content led growth strategy has come to life with the success of Big Brother, combined with the strength of the AFL and our programming spine throughout the day. We continue to focus on reducing our debt with a number of significant asset sale processes currently underway.”

The company reported net debt of $541.5 million at its half-year results.

Source: smh.com.au

4 Responses

  1. Pay a huge fee for AFL rights and Olympics. Do they make a money these big sporting events or is it like the Tennis were it came out when they dropped it that it was making a loss from.

  2. Jeez James , love your enthusiasm…but as they say in the classics, one swallow ( even two- Farmer and Big B ) does not a summer make .
    You’ll need the skills of Houdini to get out of this deep dept doo doo long term.
    Does this negate ( the horror, the horror ) of Pooch Perfect ( your watch ) and that almost unending list of ” duds” before you came onboard that put the Network in the parlous position you inherited, bombs like Secret Bridesmaid’s Business, Australian Spartan, Dance Boss, Hell’s Kitchen Australia, The Mentor, The Proposal, The Wall, Take Me Out, Restaurant Revolution, All Together Now, Back with the Ex, The Big Music Quiz, and of course the ill thought MKR re-boot that basically closed the coffin lid on this veteran golden goose.
    Good luck mate you’ll need it.

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