iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: IHRT) (“iHeartMedia” or the
“Company”) today announced that it and certain of its subsidiaries
(collectively with the Company, the “iHeartMedia Parties”) have
entered into a Transaction Support Agreement (the “TSA”) with
certain lenders and holders (or their managers, advisors or
sub-advisors) (collectively, the “Initial Supporting Holders”) of
iHeartCommunications, Inc.’s (“iHeartCommunications”) outstanding
notes and term loans. The Initial Supporting Holders represent
approximately 80% of the aggregate principal amount of the Existing
Debt (as defined below), including approximately 77% of the
aggregate principal amount of iHeartCommunications’ outstanding
senior secured notes due 2026, 79% of the aggregate principal
amount of its outstanding senior secured notes due 2027, 38% of the
aggregate principal amount of its outstanding senior secured notes
due 2028, 71% of the aggregate principal amount of its outstanding
senior unsecured notes due 2027, and 92% of the aggregate principal
amount of its outstanding term loans (all such notes and term loans
outstanding collectively, the “Existing Debt”).
The iHeartMedia Parties and the Initial Supporting Holders have
agreed to the terms of, and to support, (i) exchange offer
transactions that will be offered to all holders of the Existing
Debt, consisting of two alternative exchange transaction
structures, each of which will extend the maturity of the Existing
Debt tendered in the exchange offer transactions by three years,
and (ii) concurrent consent solicitations to amend certain
provisions in the indentures and credit agreement governing the
Existing Debt. In the first transaction structure, if certain
thresholds of holder participation are met, iHeartCommunications
will issue new secured debt in exchange for the Existing Debt held
by participating holders. Alternatively, if certain thresholds of
holder participation are not met, newly-formed subsidiaries of the
Company holding certain transferred assets and an intercompany note
(to be issued by iHeartMedia + Entertainment, Inc.) will issue new
secured debt in exchange for the Existing Debt held by
participating holders. Completion of either exchange transaction
will result in a strengthened financial position, providing
iHeartMedia with additional flexibility to execute on its strategy
and business initiatives.
Concurrently with entry into the TSA, the Company also entered
into an amendment to its ABL facility (the “ABL Amendment”) to,
among other things, permit both exchange transaction alternatives
and other transactions related to the exchange, amend certain
covenants and provisions and increase the interest rate. The
amendments contained in the ABL Amendment will become effective
upon the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions, including
the consummation of one of the transactions contemplated by the
TSA.
iHeartMedia expects to commence the exchange offer in the near
term.
The Company today filed a Form 8-K with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, which contains further details regarding the
terms of the TSA and the related transactions and a copy of the ABL
Amendment. The foregoing descriptions of the TSA and the ABL
Amendment do not purport to be complete and are qualified in their
entirety by reference to the full text of the TSA and the ABL
Amendment.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as counsel and PJT
Partners served as financial advisor to the Company. Davis Polk
& Wardwell LLP served as counsel and Perella Weinberg Partners
served as financial advisor to an ad hoc group of certain of the
Initial Supporting Holders.
This press release is not intended to be, and does not
constitute, an offer to sell, buy or subscribe for any securities
or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of
securities in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law.
In particular, this communication is not an offer of securities for
sale into the United States or any other jurisdiction. No offer of
securities shall be made absent registration under the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended, or pursuant to an exemption from, or in a
transaction not subject to, such registration requirements.
Certain statements herein constitute “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors which
may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of
iHeartMedia, Inc. and its subsidiaries to be materially different
from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. The words or phrases
"guidance," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "will," "potential,"
"positioned," "estimates," "forecast," and words of similar
meaning, as well as other words or expressions referencing future
events, conditions or circumstances are intended to identify such
forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not
limited to, statements related to the transactions described above,
including the Company’s ability to complete any of the transactions
on the terms contemplated by the TSA, on the timeline contemplated
or at all, and the Company’s ability to realize the intended
benefits of any such transactions. In addition, any statements that
refer to expectations or other characterizations of future events
or circumstances, such as statements about our anticipated growth
and financial performance, our expected costs savings and other
capital and operating expense reduction initiatives, utilizing new
technologies and programmatic platforms, trends in the advertising
industry, and strategies and initiatives are forward-looking
statements. These statements are not guarantees of future
performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and
other important factors, some of which are beyond our control and
are difficult to predict. Various risks that could cause future
results to differ from those expressed by the forward-looking
statements included in this press release include, but are not
limited to: risks related to weak or uncertain global economic
conditions and our dependence on advertising revenues; competition,
including increased competition from alternative media platforms
and technologies; dependence upon our brand and the performance of
on-air talent, program hosts and management; fluctuations in
operating costs; technological and industry changes and
innovations; shifts in population and other demographics; risks
related to our use of artificial intelligence, impact of
acquisitions, dispositions and other strategic transactions; risks
related to our indebtedness; legislative or regulatory
requirements; impact of legislation, ongoing litigation or royalty
audits on music licensing and royalties; regulations and concerns
regarding privacy and data protection and breaches of information
security measures; risks related to scrutiny of environmental,
social and governance matters; risks related to our Class A common
stock; and regulations impacting our business and the ownership of
our securities. Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could
have material adverse effects on the Company’s future results,
performance or achievements. In light of these risks,
uncertainties, assumptions and factors, the forward-looking events
discussed in this press release may not occur. You are cautioned
not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements,
which speak only as of the date stated, or if no date is stated, as
of the date hereof. Additional risks that could cause future
results to differ from those expressed by any forward-looking
statement are described in the Company’s reports filed with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the section
entitled “Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors” of iHeartMedia, Inc.’s
Annual Reports on Form 10-K and “Part II, Item 1A. Risk Factors” of
iHeartMedia, Inc.’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The Company
does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements because of new information, future
events or otherwise.
About iHeartMedia, Inc.
iHeartMedia, Inc. [Nasdaq: IHRT] is the leading audio media
company in America, reaching over 90% of Americans every month.
iHeart’s broadcast radio assets alone have more consumer reach in
the U.S. than any other media outlet; twice the reach of the next
largest broadcast radio company; and over four times the ad-enabled
reach of the largest digital only audio service. iHeart is the
largest podcast publisher according to Podtrac, with more downloads
than the next two podcast publishers combined and has the number
one social footprint among audio players, with seven times more
followers than the next audio media brand, and the only fully
integrated audio ad tech solution across broadcast, streaming and
podcasts. The company continues to leverage its strong audience
connection and unparalleled consumer reach to build new platforms,
products and services.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241107863199/en/
Media Wendy Goldberg Chief Communications Officer (212) 377-1105
wendygoldberg@iheartmedia.com
Investors Mike McGuinness EVP, Deputy CFO, and Head of Investor
Relations (212) 377-1336 mbm@iheartmedia.com
iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Okt 2024 bis Nov 2024
iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Nov 2023 bis Nov 2024