iHeartMedia Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection
Mar 15, 2018 2:30:17 GMT -5
Post by Chelsea Press 2 on Mar 15, 2018 2:30:17 GMT -5
iHeartMedia Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection
By Abid Rahman, The Hollywood Reporter | March 15, 2018 2:59 AM EDT
Saddled with $20 billion of debt and facing falling revenues, iHeartMedia Inc, the largest internet radio broadcaster in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy late on Wednesday.
In a statement, iHeart said it had reached an agreement with the holders of more than $10 billion of the company's outstanding debt for a balance sheet restructuring, which will reduce its debt by more than $10 billion.
“The agreement we announced today is a significant accomplishment, as it allows us to definitively address the more than $20 billion in debt that has burdened our capital structure,” said CEO Bob Pittman.
The company's huge debt pile is a legacy of its 2008 leveraged buyout. In February, iHeart missed interest payments on its debt as well as two sets of bond payments making bankruptcy all but inevitable. A last minute deal with Liberty Media, the owner of SiriusXM Radio, that would have seen the company controlled by media mogul John Malone inject $1.16 billion into the group also fell through.
iHeart currently owns 858 radio stations including Z100 in New York and Real 103.5 KISS FM in Chicago. The group also includes a digital music streaming service, a live concert venture as well as a 90 percent stake in Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, the billboard advertising company. Clear Channel and its units were not part of the bankruptcy filing.
www.billboard.com/biz/articles/8247536/iheartmedia-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy-protection
By Abid Rahman, The Hollywood Reporter | March 15, 2018 2:59 AM EDT
Saddled with $20 billion of debt and facing falling revenues, iHeartMedia Inc, the largest internet radio broadcaster in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy late on Wednesday.
In a statement, iHeart said it had reached an agreement with the holders of more than $10 billion of the company's outstanding debt for a balance sheet restructuring, which will reduce its debt by more than $10 billion.
“The agreement we announced today is a significant accomplishment, as it allows us to definitively address the more than $20 billion in debt that has burdened our capital structure,” said CEO Bob Pittman.
The company's huge debt pile is a legacy of its 2008 leveraged buyout. In February, iHeart missed interest payments on its debt as well as two sets of bond payments making bankruptcy all but inevitable. A last minute deal with Liberty Media, the owner of SiriusXM Radio, that would have seen the company controlled by media mogul John Malone inject $1.16 billion into the group also fell through.
iHeart currently owns 858 radio stations including Z100 in New York and Real 103.5 KISS FM in Chicago. The group also includes a digital music streaming service, a live concert venture as well as a 90 percent stake in Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, the billboard advertising company. Clear Channel and its units were not part of the bankruptcy filing.
www.billboard.com/biz/articles/8247536/iheartmedia-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy-protection
