DUBLIN (Reuters) - Independent News & Media <INME.I> has won a grace period from lenders on a 200 million euro (177.7 million pounds) bond that gives the group until June 26 to hammer out a repayment deal on the senior note, it said on Monday.
Dublin-based Independent News & Media has been negotiating for months to try and secure an extension on a May 18 deadline and all interest and principal payments on the note will now be suspended during the standstill period.
"The standstill is necessary to facilitate ongoing negotiations between key stakeholders in relation to the group's financial restructuring," the company said in a statement.
The media group said it had secured an additional 15 million euros working capital facility from its banks for the standstill period, secured on certain assets. The capital will be repaid from asset disposals.
Independent News & Media, which has built up a debt pile of 1.4 billion euros through overseas expansion, expects to raise 100-150 million euros from the sale of its price comparison website Verivox, gaming software firm Cashcade and South African outdoor advertising business by the end of the third quarter.
There has been much media speculation that the group wants to sell its flagship London Independent newspaper but it has consistently declined to comment on the reports.
Over 90 percent of bondholders agreed to the standstill deal and Independent News said it could be extended beyond June 26 if the bondholders and banks okayed such an extension.
The group, which owns newspapers, radio stations and advertising groups in Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, has been hit hard by a collapse in advertising as the world economy reels from recession.
The company's shares, which rose 13 percent on Friday on hopes of a standstill deal on the debt, have lost around 85 percent of their value over the last 12 months.
(Reporting by Carmel Crimmins)