INM lenders to appoint adviser over €1.3bn debt

BONDHOLDER lenders to Independent News & Media will shortly appoint a financial adviser to help them negotiate their portion of the company’s €1.3 billion debt pile, a source close to the situation said yesterday.

The lenders are considering whether to grant the company extra time to repay a €200 million bond that matures on May 18, two other sources told Reuters news agency.

Investment bank Houlihan Lokey is one of the favourites to claim the mandate to negotiate for lenders, a source with knowledge of the industry said, citing its experience working with creditors.

The company’s most immediate problem is the upcoming May 18 maturity, but any refinancing deal would be likely to encompass all upcoming debt maturities, the first source said.

The firm, publisher of the Irish and Sunday Independent newspaper and a string of news and specialist publications across the world, warned last month there was a “strong likelihood” it would breach covenants on its debt facilities in 2009 unless it could agree an additional waiver from lenders.

On April 30, it said it was in talks with banks and bondholders – owed a total of €1.3bn – seeking a standstill period and giving it time to agree a wider refinancing deal.

The company has a total of €590m of bank loans maturing by September 2010, with €50m due to be repaid in September 2009.