Redstone's debt restructuring talks proceed slowly - WSJ
Dec 2 (Reuters) - Negotiations to restructure the debt of media mogul Sumner Redstone's National Amusements Inc are moving slowly and a deal looks increasingly unlikely this year, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the situation.
National Amusements, which owns controlling stakes in CBS Corp (CBS.N) and Viacom Inc (VIAb.N) faces a deadline to repay some $800 million in debt by the end of the year. It has a total of about $1.6 billion in debt outstanding.
But discussions to restructure the debt have a long way to go and that date could be extended, the paper said citing people familiar with the situation.
At the core of the discussion is a debate about which assets National Amusements will have to sell to pare its towering debt, the paper said.
The discussion is currently focused on the sale of some of the Redstone family's movie theaters and a stake in WMS Industries Inc (WMS.N), which sells slot machines, the paper said.
On Monday, National Amusements sold its stake of around 87.2 percent in Midway Games Inc MWY.N to investor Mark Thomas to ease the debt load.
National Amusements had already sold about $230 million of shares of CBS Corp and Viacom to help meet debt payments, and has been in talks with banks in hopes of avoiding a debt crunch.
Earlier in November, Redstone has said he doesn't want to sell any more stock in Viacom Inc or CBS Corp, the media companies he controls.
National Amusements could not be immediately reached for a comment by Reuters. (Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Kim Coghill) ((sakthi.prasad@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging: sakthi.prasad.reuters.com@reuters.net))
