Examinership a possibility for indebted Indo group Sunday, July 05, 2009 By Richard Curran Independent News & Media (INM) has already done preparatory work for a possible examinership, in the event that it cannot reach an agreement with its bondholders on a €200 million payment that was due in May.
The standstill agreement reached between the company and the bondholders runs out on July 24.
Denis O’Brien, who owns 25 per cent of the company, is not happy with the proposals being put to bondholders, and believes that a harder line should be taken in the negotiations.
He also believes that INM needs to engage in a deeper and bigger restructuring.
Gavin O’Reilly, chief executive of INM, has been in negotiations with bondholders on a variety of proposals but there is no certainty as to whether O’Brien will back offers to bondholders currently under discussion by management.
The company is committed to finding a resolution, and has hired McCann Fitzgerald Solicitors and accountancy firm Deloitte as part of the process. It is understood that INM management are open to the possibility of placing the group in examinership as a contingency plan in the event that a deal is not reached. A spokesman for INM declined to comment on what the company’s contingency plans were. However, a source close to INM said that some of the work done by McCann Fitzgerald and Deloitte ‘‘would be useful’’ if such an eventuality were to arise.
Last week, INM sold one-third of its share holding in Indian newspaper group Jagran Prakashan for €22 million.
The proceeds will be used to pay back a six-week working capital loan borrowed by the company in May, and to improve ‘‘liquidity’’.
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