19th Mar 2015 08:22
LONDON (Alliance News) - Independent News and Media PLC saw its shares rise early Thursday after it said it is selling its entire 18.6% holding in APN News & Media Ltd to Credit Suisse (Australia) Ltd for net proceeds of EUR115.0 million, which it will use to pay off all its debt.
APN provides outdoor advertising in Australia and New Zealand, and has operations in Hong Kong.
It will sell 191.5 million shares in APN for AUD0.88, a 6.4% discount to the AUD0.94 closing price of APN's shares on Wednesday.
Independent News and Media said that following the sale and repayment of debt, it plans to put in place a lower cost revolving credit facility with better flexibility in terms of opportunities to invest in its digital strategy, including potential acquisitions.
"Following the announcement of INM's preliminary results for 2014, this is an appropriate time for INM to realise the value of its investment, thereby enabling the INM Group to repay all of its indebtedness and focus on its island of Ireland business strategy, build on current performance and position it for further development at a time of economic recovery in Ireland," said Chief Executive Officer Robert Pitt in a statement.
Shares in Independent News and Media are up 13.5% at 0.200 pence Thursday morning.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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