The Australian – Hedge funds who invested in Channel Nine’s owner PBL Media are unhappy about a rescue package to refinance the group’s $4.3 billion in debt, The Asian Wall Street Journal has reported.
Private equity group CVC Asia Pacific, the owner of 75 per cent of PBL Media, is "scrambling" to prevent PBL Media from defaulting on its $4.3 billion in debt, the paper said. If the group did default, PBL Media (the owner of Channel Nine and Australia’s largest magazine group ACP) could be placed in the hands of its bankers.
The Australian last week revealed CVC was trying to negotiate a rescue package, which included raising an extra $325 million from its banks, of which about $250 million would go towards repaying PBL’s debt.
PBL Media’s debt is held by nearly 40 creditors, including global banks and hedge funds.
