Independent News bondholders to get 46 pct stake in debt deal

Independent News & Media Plc, the publisher of the U.K. Independent newspaper, will give bondholders a 46 per cent stake in the company as part of a deal agreed after months of negotiations on a restructuring of its debts.

The Dublin-based company will swap 123 million euros ($180 million) of the money owed to bondholders for the stake, according to an outline agreement announced in an e-mail yesterday. It also plans to issue new shares to existing shareholders that will raise 94 million euros. The existing shareholders will retain 52 per cent of the company if they take up their full entitlement.