INM holds emergency shareholder meeting

Independent News & Media will hold the first of a series of emergency shareholder meetings in Dublin today.

The company has been forced to call today’s EGM after its rebel shareholder Denis O’Brien insisted that his alternative rescue plan, which includes selling off the group’s UK Independent titles, is put to a shareholder vote.

The INM board have rejected O’Brien’s demands, however, investors will be given the opportunity to vote on whether to remove the current chairman Brian Hillary and replace the company’s senior independent non-executive director Baroness Jay.

The board will urge shareholders to vote against these resolutions.

A second EGM is expected to take place on 23 November to approve the sale of INM’s South African ad business, INM Outdoor, which could make €150 million.

Selling-off INM Outdoor and holding on the Independent titles and INM’s London offices forms part of Sir Tony O’Reilly’s restructuring proposal, which the board agreed on in September.

The agreement aims to reduce the company’s debt by €350 million, but will involve halving both O’Reilly and O’Brien’s stakes, while INM’s banks take a 45% stake.

At the time, the board sided with O’Reilly’s proposal, saying the restructuring plan offered a “superior outcome” with “materially less execution risk compared to any other proposal received”.

INM currently owes its bondholders €200 million and has bank loans up to a further €120 million.

Yesterday, the company agreed another extension to its financial standstill agreement with bondholders, which will now run until 23 December, to give the board a chance to complete the refinancing proceedings.

Two further EGMs have been called to give shareholders the chance to vote on the shares issue and finalise the debt-for-equity swap.

One more is expected after that to authorise a rights issue after the debt-for-equity swap is completed.