iHEART CREDITORS OFFER DEBT PLAN

iHeartMedia creditors have submitted a new debt restructuring plan to keep the radio company out of bankruptcy, The New York Post and other media have reported.

Investors are asking for more collateral and equity than iHeart originally offered, according to a new securities filing. Several lenders have left Franklin Advisers, which holds $2.3b of the company’s $20b debt, and are proposing 49% equity stakes in iHeartMedia’s radio-operating company and iHeartMedia’s billboard subsidiary if the two divisions are spun off the parent holding company. Creditors want to eliminate the holding company.

Franklin is reportedly reviewing the proposal.

The Bob Pittman-led company with 855 radio stations has been trying to restructure $14.6b in debt since mid-March.

According to the San Antonio News-Express, the counteroffer came from Chicago-based Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, an adviser to holders of about $280m in loans to iHeartMedia. The adviser said in May that it was talking to creditors who held more than $1b in loans.

“No agreement has been reached with respect to the … discussions, and discussions remain ongoing. There can be no assurance that any agreement will be reached. Any agreement will require the consent of additional debt holders who are not party to the negotiations,” iHeartMedia said in its filing.

In related news, Rob Goldstone has sent out emails offering to set up financial meetings with members of the first family, a Russian pop star and assorted intelligence specialists at the Moscow Ritz-Carlton.