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LBI- EstrellaTV

Loaded with $530 million in debt, investor pressure and lawsuits, LBI Media files for bankruptcy

November 22, 2018 by Veronica Villafañe

Burdened with $530 million in debt, LBI Media Inc. and 17 of its affiliates and subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 relief, announcing plans for a company reorganization.

The privately owned Spanish-language media company, which operates EstrellaTV network, 10 television and 17 radio stations across the country, cited changes in viewer habits, a drop in advertising revenue and continued litigation between its first lien lender, HPS Investment Partners, LLC, and a group of its second lien noteholders led by Caspian Capital LP, as reasons for its filing.

The California-based LBI Media had been struggling for months as it sought financing to continue operations and avoid bankruptcy as it battled a heavy debt load and investor pressure.

The company has secured an additional $38 million loan to continue operations, but the junior lenders, who accuse HPS, LBI and its CEO Lenard Liberman of financial fraud and trying to defraud them of $115 million, say they will continue their legal fight outside of bankruptcy court.

Read more extensive details, including the internal email sent by Liberman to staff on Forbes.

Filed Under: TV & Radio Tagged With: Estrella TV, LBI Media

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AboutTime says

    November 23, 2018 at 5:32 PM

    La verdad que adonde llega Andrea Ospina, se produce la hecatombe !
    ResumeAlert !

    • THnews says

      November 27, 2018 at 6:22 AM

      FTP her!!!!!

    • Austin TX reporter says

      November 27, 2018 at 1:28 PM

      Hooters is hiring….

    • I don't work there anymore says

      November 27, 2018 at 1:33 PM

      Pinche Andrea you bad luck!

  2. Ramon Espinosa says

    November 23, 2018 at 7:12 PM

    Goodbye Liberman’s

  3. George Branches says

    November 25, 2018 at 12:32 AM

    “Companies that have gone through similar financial restructurings are Cumulus Media, American Airlines, General Motors, Six Flags, Chrysler and Marvel Entertainment and these companies operate successfully today.”….

    yeah, but they were sold to other companies and shed assets and personnel to be attractive.

    Muchachos, que pena me da decirles que es hora de saltar del barco antes de que se hunda…. al final el recurso humano siempre esta de sobra durante las bancarrotas…

  4. Mario Mariscal Mata says

    November 26, 2018 at 12:46 PM

    Si ESTRELLA TV va bien, tiene buena audiencia y está bien comercializada, entonces, ¿Quién cometió el error financiero?.

    Cuando una empresa se endeuda es para poder operar e invertir en la misma. Pero creo que aquí se mal-utilizó, se desvió el endeudamiento para otros propósitos.

    Esta sería una buena oportunidad para que CARLOS SLIM, invirtiera y comprara o se hiciera socio de LBI, para poder desplegar su cadena NUESTRA VISION en red nacional, y hacerla verderamente competitiva.

    • George Branches says

      November 26, 2018 at 11:42 PM

      No creo que Slim quiera invertir, mas bien la puede comprar a pedazos y asi evitar la adquisicion de la deuda…. univision esta en un hueco aun mas grande y con mejores ratings y aun asi nadie quiere adquirir los billones que tiene de deuda…. ademas,
      que paso con la plata de la subasta del espectro? A ver don jose….

  5. jacob says

    November 29, 2018 at 12:30 AM

    Los que están preocupados son los Telemundo que invirtieron dinero en estaciones contratando Todo Personal mediocre que Univision ha tirado por problemático o por incompetente y ahora carga con la obligación de recuperar los millones que le metieron a todas las estaciones la siguiente crisis que viene es la de Telemundo que con tanta inversión no ha logrado posicionarse como el primer lugar en la televisión de Estados Unidos están sudando y preocupado a los directores de noticias cuando ven qué equipo de 25 personas para un noticiero no son capaces de levantar rating aún con toda la tecnología y el dinero que les metió su papá nbc universal llegaron a su punto máximo y no fueron primer lugar ahora vienen en caída cero contrataciones y miles de problemas internos la belleza de la televisión hispana

    • George Branches says

      December 3, 2018 at 2:42 PM

      Jacob, puedes explicar con detalle?

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Veronica Villafañe, Editor & Publisher

Emmy award-winning journalist and former president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ). Currently a reporter for Voice of America, she has worked as an on-air reporter, anchor, writer and producer for Spanish and English-language TV, print and online media, including Univision, Telemundo, Fox 11 News in L.A. and the San Jose Mercury News.

Hispanic media and entertainment contributor to Forbes.

Full bio here
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