UPDATE 1-Australia APN to announce capital management moves

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SYDNEY May 19 (Reuters) - Australian media firm APN News & Media Ltd (APN.AX) plans to make an announcement on capital management initiatives, it said on Tuesday, two weeks after cutting its full-year profit forecast.

APN's 39.1 percent owner, Ireland's Independent News & Media (INME.I), has been struggling to pay down debt at a time when circulation and advertising revenue have been sliding.

Independent News was expected to announce this week that creditors had given it six weeks breathing room to the end of June for a 200 million euro ($271 million) bond that was due on Monday (see [ID:nLH731589]).

The Irish group had been looking to sell its stake in APN for around A$555 million ($425 million) late last year in its effort to raise funds to pay down debt.

APN requested a halt to trading in its shares pending an announcement on its capital management plan.

Its shares closed on Monday at A$1.19, down 52 percent so far this year, against a market that is up 1.4 percent. ($1=1.307 Australian Dollar) (Reporting by Sonali Paul and Jonathan Standing)