Central European Media Enterprises (CME) has closed its previously announced rights offering.
According to the company, shareholders purchased 2,852,168 units, of which 2,229,644 were by Time Warner as committed by it under standby purchase agreement.
The remaining 566,299 units not subscribed for in the rights offering were purchased by Time Warner as part of their backstop purchase commitment.
In addition, Time Warner purchased 581,533 units in a separate private placement that closed concurrently with the rights offering. It also provided a loan of $30 million to CME that matures on December 1, 2017. Following these and the refinancing of CME’s 2016 notes, Time Warner now owns around 75.1% of the company.
In a joint statement Michael Del Nin and Christoph Mainusch, co-CEOs of CME, said: “We are very appreciative of the continued support demonstrated by Time Warner and our other shareholders. We are pleased with the results of the rights offering and the other financing transactions and believe that CME is now on much better footing as we work to continue building the value of our leading brands.”
Jeff Bewkes, chairman and CEO of Time Warner, said: “We are pleased that with our additional investment in the Company, CME’s management can focus on executing its strategy across all of their core markets. We have full confidence in the management team to execute on its operational priorities.”
