IHEART DEBT TALKS STALL

After failing to strike deals with creditors, iHeartMedia is considering ending negotiations to restructure a portion of its $21b debt, according to reports.

The media conglomerate said the “significant gap between the proposals” has them reconsidering continuing the talks.

Franklin Advisers is the biggest holder of iHeart’s $6.3b of term loans and has been leading the discussions, Bloomberg News reported. IHeart had looked to extend maturities on its debt and reduce its interest expense, but no agreement has been reached.

IHeartMedia has struggled to restructure its debt load. About $10b will come due in the next three years, much of it taken on as part of a leveraged buyout by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners in 2008.

Holders of iHeart’s $6.3b term loan offered to cut the interest rate and extend the maturity by a year to 2020. In return, they asked for amendments ensuring that their investments will be paid back in whole if iHeartMedia fails to pay some of its unsecured bonds, including those due in 2018.

IHeartMedia proposed that the interest-rate cut would need to be at 75 basis points. The loans currently pay at least 675 basis points above the benchmark rate, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.