Central European Media gets $386M - The Deal Pipeline (SAMPLE CONTENT: NEED AN ID?)
Subscriber Content Preview | Request a free trialSearch  
  Go

Restructuring

Print  |  Share  |  Reprint

Central European Media gets $386M

by Chris Nolter  |  Published May 1, 2012 at 2:53 PM
CentralEuroMedia_227x128.jpgShares of Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. surged Tuesday, May 1, following news that investors Time Warner Inc. and founder Ronald Lauder are making debt and equity investments totalling $386 million.

CME is a Bermuda company that owns broadcast, video on demand and other media operations in Central and Eastern Europe.

On Tuesday morning, CME's shares rose $1.20, or 15%, to $9.10. The company trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and the Prague Stock Exchange.

As part of the financing package announced Monday, Time Warner will provide the company with a $300 million loan to buy back notes due in 2013, 2014 and 2016.

The New York media company and Lauder's RSL Capital LLC will also purchase 11.5 million Class A shares of CME at $7.51 each, for a total of about $86.4 million. CME said it will use the equity proceeds to repay Time Warner's loan.

Time Warner and Lauder will also convert their Class B shares into Class A shares. Time Warner will increase its stake to 40%, and if the loans are outstanding after 180 days could push its position to 49.9%.

The company also filed a shelf registration for a possible offering of up to $500 million in Class A stock.

Lauder, who is the son of cosmetics entrepreneur Estée Lauder, founded CME in 1994. The company's board includes Eric Zinterhofer, Lauder's son-in-law, who is the founder of New York private equity firm Searchlight Capital Partners LLC and a former senior partner at Apollo Management LP.

A special committee of CME's board retained J.P. Morgan for advice on the investment; CME hired BNP Paribas SA.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. bankers Ketan Mehta, Steve Becton, Dan Richards and Rob Murphy advised Time Warner, which received counsel from Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP lawyers William Gump, Thomas Mark and William Hiller












Share:
Tags: Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. | middle market | Ronald Laude | Time Warner Inc.

Free preview

This is only a preview of The Deal's sophisticated coverage. Explore the real-time intelligence as researched and reported on by our team of financial journalists with a license to The Deal Pipeline. Click here for more information.

Meet the journalists

Chris Nolter

Senior Writer: Media & Telecom

Contact



Movers & Shakers

Launch Movers and shakers slideshow

NBGI Private Equity appointed food and drinks industry veteran Tim Kelly as a senior adviser. For other updates launch today's Movers & shakers slideshow.

Video

Shop, then chop

Blackstone Real Estate and DDR divide 46 shopping centers in a $1.46 billion deal. More video

Sectors