National Amusements Inc. said today it will pay off its
creditors in full after selling some noncore assets and a portion
of its controlling stakes in CBS Corp. (CBS) and Viacom Inc
(VIA).
The sale comes with National Amusements facing a $500 million
debt payment due late this month as it struggles to sell off its
chain of movie theaters to raise cash.
The privately owned company run by media mogul Sumner Redstone
said it expects to make about $600 million from the sale of Viacom
shares and about $345 million from the sale of the CBS shares. NAI
said it has no intention to further cut its ownership stake in CBS
and Viacom, and the company will still hold in excess of 75% of the
voting control of each company after the offerings.
In May, the company restructured its debt load in an attempt to
avoid further sales of its holdings in Viacom and CBS. The company
sold about $230 million worth of shares in the media conglomerates
last fall to satisfy lenders.
It had also discussed selling parts of its movie-theater chain
in order to meet a $500 million debt payment required by its
lenders this month.
In addition to controlling stakes in CBS and Viacom, National
Amusements also owns more than 1,500 motion-picture screens in the
U.S., U.K., Latin America and Russia, MovieTickets.com and some
real-estate assets.
-By Nathan Becker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2855;
nathan.becker@dowjones.com;