雷石东被债务所累

Sumner Redstone
媒体巨头萨姆纳.雷石东
Redstone Reaches Lender Deal
雷石东被债务所累
National Amusements Is Likely to Sell Part of Theater Chain to Shave Debt
国家娱乐将售卖部分连锁影院来还债
By MERISSA MARR
作者：《华尔街日报》梅瑞莎.玛尔

Sumner Redstone's family holding company, National Amusements Inc., has reached an agreement with its lenders, scoring an important reprieve after months of uncertainty over the fate of its towering debt.

雷石东家族控股企业—国家娱乐公司与其债权人达成协议，为其高额债务赢得时间。

Under the deal signed Friday, Mr. Redstone and his family will have to sell assets to help repay the debt by the end of next year. But the assets will be of their choosing -- something Mr. Redstone pushed hard for to avoid selling his controlling interest in Viacom Inc. or CBS Corp.

根据周五签署的协议，雷石东先生和其家族在年内将不得不出售旗下资产来偿还债务。出售哪些资产仍由其掌控—维亚康母或CBS这样的资产是其极力避免出售的部分。

National Amusements, of Dedham, Mass., has been in negotiations with its lenders to restructure $1.6 billion of debt since it breached the terms of its loans as stocks skidded last fall. The discussions had stirred concerns that Mr. Redstone and his family would be required to sell more of their shares in media companies Viacom and CBS to pacify creditors.

自从去年秋季股票下挫，进而影响其借贷条款的履行以来，国家娱乐公司就其16亿美元的债务重组与其债权人进行了多次磋商。焦点集中在：为平衡债务被要求出售更多的涉及传媒行业的维亚康母和CBS股权

Mr. Redstone is expected instead to sell a chunk of the family's movie-theater chain -- a business he has made clear he has less affection for. National Amusements has put out feelers to gauge possible interest in its 1,500 screens and will start a formal process soon, people familiar with the situation said.

雷石东则期望通过出售其家族控制的连锁影院-国家娱乐公司来满足债务重组。业内人士称：已经对其1500张银幕进行评估，并很快会进入正式的程序。

National Amusements said it would also tap tax refunds and cash from operations to meet what is an aggressive repayment schedule.

国家娱乐称其还将通过退税和营运现金中安排资金来满足积极地支付安排。

As part of Friday's deal, lenders, led by Bank of America Corp., have extended the maturity of the debt to the end of 2010. The holding company is due to make its first payment on the closing of the deal, which will bring the debt down to $1.46 billion. That will be followed by heftier repayments late this year and next year.

作为周五协议的一部分，以美洲银行为首的债权人同意延展到期的债务至2010年底。负债企业在协议签署时需支付其首笔还款，这样其债务额度降至14.6亿美元，其他部分将在今年晚些时候和明年归还。

In reaching a deal, National Amusements has cleared an important hurdle, but it still faces the challenge of selling its theaters in a tough economic climate. The company hasn't decided which theaters to sell yet -- that will depend on offers, people familiar with the situation said. The prospect of a sale has created tensions between Mr. Redstone and his daughter, Shari, who runs the theaters.

签署该协议，使国家娱乐扫清了一个重要障碍，但也迫使其在经济不景气时期面临出售其影院的挑战。目前，该公司尚未决定哪些影院将被出售—将依据出价而定，熟悉该情况的人士称：出售的预期已在雷石东和其女儿间产生了隔阂。

After breaching an asset-to-debt covenant last October, the Redstones moved quickly to sell $233 million of Viacom and CBS shares. The move failed to keep their lenders at bay, however, and they were forced to address a broader refinancing of their debt.

自去年10月资不抵债的情况出现以来，雷石东快速地出售了2.33亿美元的维亚康母和CBS股份。但仍不能满足债权人的要求，以致于被迫寻求更为宽泛的债务重组。

In early December, National Amusements sold its controlling holding in videogame company Midway Games Inc., a move that represented a big loss but secured a sizable tax refund, which will go toward repaying debt.

12月初，国家娱乐售出了其控制的视频游戏公司Midway游戏公司。

National Amusements said in a statement that Friday's "agreement in principle" is subject to the execution of definitive agreements. People close to the deal said it is expected to formally close next month.

Write to Merissa Marr at merissa.marr@wsj.com