Court approves iHeartMedia reorganisation and debt reduction

It seems all systems are go for iHeartMedia after the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas approved its plan of reorganisation.

The US’ biggest radio broadcaster, which has an offshoot in Australia via a partnership with ARN, will undertake a complete restructure to reduce its debt from US$16.1 billion to $5.75 billion by the first half of 2019.

It will also spin off Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc., creating two independent public companies.

Bob Pittman, chairman and CEO and Rich Bressler, president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer have extended their contracts by four years.

Pittman said, “iHeartMedia is America’s number one audio company, with unparalleled multi-platform capabilities across broadcast radio, podcasts, influencers, live events, social marketing, digital and data that uniquely serve the needs of digital and traditional marketers and a consumer reach in the U.S. greater than any other media outlet.

“We are delighted to reach this significant milestone in our restructuring process, which will give us a new capital structure that matches the strong operating performance of our business.”

He added, “iHeartMedia’s unique place in the advertising world perfectly positions us to take advantage of the renaissance underway in audio.”

It filed for bankruptcy in March 2018 after years of tense negotiations with creditors as the debt ballooned to $20 billion.

Liberty Media Corp. was interested in acquiring a 40% stake but withdrew the offer in June after iHeart posted disappointing results.

Liberty announced in November that it bought $660 million of iHeart’s debt.

iHeartMedia owns and operates over 850 radio stations, as well as the iHeartRadio streaming radio and music service, which claims over 100 million users on 90 device platforms.

It also runs, major event as the iHeartMedia Radio Awards and a number of genre festivals.

On July 14, 2013, iHeartRadio launched in New Zealand and Australia in partnership with the Australian Radio Network.