Gavin O’Reilly, chief executive, Independent News & Media (INM), has ruled out a call made by group shareholder Denis O’Brien to appoint an examiner to INM as the group tries to sort out its debt problems after again defaulting on a €200 million bond payment. O’Reilly said examinership was “certainly a million miles away” from the focus of the INM board and management.
Last Friday, INM reported an operating loss of €13.6m in the six months to June. O’Brien has said he will block any attempt by other INM directors to sell its South African poster company, INM Outdoor, to a pan-African equity investor group led by Helios Investment Partners.
O’Reilly said a sale of €98m is likely to be ratified by a majority of INM shareholders. O’Brien owns a 26 per cent stake in the media group and has three representatives, Leslie Buckley, Paul Connolly and Lucy Gaffney, on its board.
O'Reilly denies INM examinership an option
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