iHeartMedia has reached an impasse on talks with some of its creditors.
Since winning a court judgement in May, the broadcaster has been trying to reach an agreement on how to restructure some $21 billion in debt.
The company has told the Securities and Exchange Commission its assessing whether to continue to talks “given the significant gap” between the proposals from various sides.
Franklin Resources Inc.’s subsidiary Franklin Advisors Inc. holds the largest amount of iHeart’s $6.3 billion of term loans and has been leading the discussions, a source told Bloomberg.
Not coming to terms on a deal will make it harder for the broadcaster to restructure its debt; some $10 billion is coming due in the next three years.
iHeart did make a counter-proposal, saying the interest rate would need to be reduced at least 75 basis points before it would agree to the make-whole requirements lenders asked for, according to the SEC filings. Bloomberg determines the loans currently pay at least 675 basis points above the benchmark rate.
“We continue to evaluate various opportunities to strengthen our capital structure for the benefit of our stakeholders, and we remain focused on positioning iHeartMedia for long-term growth.”
