A group of creditors filed a petition for TV Azteca to declare bankruptcy “involuntarily” under Chapter 11 in the United States. The foregoing, alleging that the Mexican chain has not paid them the $63.3 million dollars that it owes them.
In accordance with Reuters, the claim was filed on Monday, March 14, before the Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York by the funds Plenisfer Investments SICAV-Destination Value Total Return, from Luxembourg; the American Cyrus Opportunities Master Fund II Ltd and Sandpiper Limited, of Grand Cayman.
The creditors are represented by Akin Gump, a law firm that also represented a group of bondholders in a similar lawsuit against Mexican lender Crédito Real (CREAL.MX), which went bankrupt after defaulting on a bond last year.
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However, this is not the first time that TV Azteca faces this type of problem. The station owned by Mexican magnate Ricardo Salinas Pliego has been facing pressure from its creditors for several months. Its debts amounted to $526 million dollars at the end of September 2022.
In this case, the company defaulted in February 2021 with the interest payment of $16.5 million dollars on a bond for $400 million dollars maturing in 2024. This despite the fact that at the end of 2020, the company reported a cash balance of $160 million dollars; enough to cover your debts. Instead, they opted to make a selective prepayment of stock certificates for a value of $1,211 million pesos.
In response to the current petition to declare bankruptcy, TV Azteca said that it is open to dialogue to reach a favorable agreement for all parties in a brief statement:
“From journalistic notes we understand that a minority group of TV Azteca bondholders of around 63 million dollars initiated a legal proceeding in New York, us. In this regard, as we have always done, we will respond responsibly and firmly to all legal processes, knowing that we have the ethical and legal reason, and that the judicial authorities will confirm it. Additionally, we reiterate that we will continue working with strict financial discipline, thanks to which our operation remains solid in order to continue generating the best content for our audiences on open television and digital media.”
TV Azteca is the second most important network in Mexico. Its programming on four channels —Azteca Uno, Azteca 7, ADN 40 and A Más— reaches more than 300 local stations throughout the country.
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