National Amusements to restructure debt

NEW YORK, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. media group National Amusements says it has reached an agreement allowing it to restructure $1.6 billion in debt.

The company, owned by Sumner Redstone and his daughter Shari, and its lenders have reached an initial deal to allow the company to pay back the debt through operations cash flow, the sale of holdings and tax refunds, The Hollywood Reporter said Friday.

The agreement also sets 2010 as the new maturity date for the National Amusements debt and forces the media group to make two debt payments this year.

The initial payment will take place at closing and is expected to lower the company's debt to $1.46 billion.

National Amusements told the Reporter the agreement also requires two more payments in 2010, with the debt to be secured by the firm's assets.

The company operates more than 1,500 movie screens across the United States and in other countries. It also is a major player in CBS Corp., Viacom, CyGamZ and MovieTickets.com.

Sources said Redstone has no plans to sell any CBS and Viacom shares to raise money.