Media board confident of bond deal

THE board of Independent News & Media (INM) said yesterday that it is confident of reaching a satisfactory agreement from its ongoing negotiations with relevant stakeholders over the refinancing terms of its €200 million bond.

In its end of year statement, INM re-iterated that the faltering credit markets meant it was unable to raise the funds needed to pay off the bond and, just last week, Denis O’Brien – the group’s second largest shareholder – said there was only a 50-50 chance of a successful outcome from the refinancing talks.

While refusing to go into detail on either the refinancing issue or the much-speculated-upon disposal of assets, Donal Buggy – INM’s chief financial officer – said yesterday: “There will be a deal. Denis is not a director. The directors are confident that an agreement will be reached, which is acceptable to the group.”