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Canwest Global Communications Corp. has lined up $175 million in fresh debt financing and is aiming to have a broader debt restructuring completed by mid-July, the media company says.

The Winnipeg-based broadcaster and newspaper publisher, struggling under $4 billion in debt, said today that some of its current debtholders have agreed to provide an additional $100 million.

In return, they would receive new senior notes with a face value of $105 million paying a hefty annual interest rate of 12 per cent. That would translate into a yield of 12.6 per cent on the $100 million they actually provide to Canwest.

In addition, CIT Business Credit Canada Inc. will provide a $75-million senior secured revolving asset-based loan facility.

The transactions were expected to close Thursday.

DBRS analyst Chris Diceman described the refinancing as "an interim step to possibly getting a recapitalization completed in the future" but added it's too soon to say whether that will be accomplished by Canwest's target date of July 15.

The new money Canwest (TSX: CGS) gets from its noteholders will be used to retire senior secured debt owed to the company's bankers.

In return, the unsecured debtholders will receive "quite a high return" on the $100 million they provide, Diceman said.

Canwest said today that the "sufficient credit availability to operate its business in the ordinary course as it continues its work to effect a recapitalization transaction."

The Winnipeg-based TV and newspaper conglomerate said the noteholder committee has extended its forbearance until June 15, by which time an agreement in principle on a long-term recapitalization is to be framed cheap business cards.

A definitive agreement is to be reached on or before July 15.

Diceman said it's too hard to say at this point whether Canwest can meet that timetable, since it all depends on the company's behind-the-scenes negotiations with the noteholder committee – primarily representing large U.S. funds that deal in high-yield debt.

Canwest has failed to pay US$30.4 million in interest that was due March 15 on US$761 million in eight per cent senior subordinated notes.

Canwest has received several extensions from the noteholders while the company worked on selling assets and renegotiating its debt agreements.

"Nobody but those two parties really knows where that is as far as where those discussions are," Diceman said. "But clearly they've laid out some milestones that they must meet. That could be part of the negotiating as well," Diceman said.

Canwest, like many media companies, has been hit by a decline in advertising revenue due to the recession and increased competition for its conventional television stations from specialty cable channels and the Internet.

In addition, it has been burdened with the debt associated with its acquisition of many of the former Hollinger newspapers, including the National Post.

The company's shares closed today at 39 cents, up four cents, on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

17:14ET 20-05-09

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FRANKFURT – German automaker Daimler AG said Tuesday it has acquired a nearly 10 per cent stake in California-based electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. as part of plans to ramp up its own electric car production.

The two companies are already working together on using Tesla's lithium-ion battery packs and charging electronics in Daimler's electric version of its two-seat Smart car.

The stake's value was not disclosed, but Weber said it was in the double-digit millions.

Thomas Weber, research and development chief at Daimler's Mercedes-Benz Cars unit, said the stake will let the two companies work more closely on developing better battery and electric drive systems for vehicles destined for the consumer market.

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said in a statement that the partnership would help it bring the Tesla Model S car to production faster and "ensure that it is a superlative vehicle on all levels."

As part of the deal, Daimler vice-president Herbert Kohler will take a seat on Tesla's board of directors.

Daimler, along with other automakers, is working on developing more battery and electric-powered cars. Earlier this year, it founded the Deutsche Accumotive GmbH, a joint venture with Evonik Industries AG low fee payday loans.

Daimler has been testing a fleet of 100 electric-powered Smart Fortwo cars in London and, later this year, will start production of up to 1,000 of the cars at its assembly plant in Hambach, France.

"The next step will be an electrified Smart with a Tesla battery pack," Weber said. "This car will be available on the market at the end of this year."

Tesla, headquartered in San Carlos, California, has earned praise for its low-slung Roadster, the $109,000 (dollar figures U.S.) two-seat electric sports car that can get more than 320 kilometres on a single charge with an acceleration of zero to 96 km/h in just under 4 seconds.

The Tesla Model S is an all-electric, five-door sedan that can carry up to seven people as far as 483 kilometres on a single charge. It was unveiled in March and production is set to begin in late 2011.

The sticker price for the Model S will be $49,900 after a $7,500 federal rebate for buying an electric vehicle.

The Model S and the Roadster can be charged by plugging into wall sockets.

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Shares of Bank of America Corp rose 7.7 percent to $11.49 in premarket trading on Monday, after some analysts issued positive comments on the stock.

Goldman Sachs added it to its conviction buy list no fax pay day loans.

(Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Theodore d’Afflisio)

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Don Brown Chevrolet said today it had received word that it is not among the area General Motors dealerships that will lose its franchise agreement.

Rumors abounded today as word about GM’s plans to end some 1,100 franchises in an effort to streamline its business and avoid bankruptcy. The corporation has already said it will end the storied Pontiac brand and is looking to sell other lines including Saturn.

At Don Brown Chevrolet on South Kingshighway word came down Friday that the dealership would be spared, said Greg Flotte, sales manager. Don Brown’s Chrysler dealership also on Kingshighway has already closed due to struggling sales. Many city dealerships have lost sales in competition with suburban auto malls.

"This won’t affect us directly. We’re not on the list," Flotte said.

Other dealerships were reticent today as word spread. Employees at McMahon GMC Pontiac on Kingshighway and at the parent office said they didn’t know if their business was affected and couldn’t comment anyway. General Manager John Schicker also couldn’t reached.

At Chris Auffenberg Chevrolet in Kirkwood, general sales manager Louie Trevino said, "There’s always rumors. Nothing is definitive and we haven’t been told anything yet."

(For more on this story, read Sunday’s Post-Dispatch or return to STLtoday.com)

Our earlier story:

By Angela Tablac

Glenn Bruckert knew bad news would come soon to his Chevrolet dealership, so he took a proactive step earlier this week. He sent General Motors Corp. a letter on Wednesday, asking to end the franchise agreement at his Bunker Hill location.

On Friday, his action was validated. He received a notice from GM saying his franchise would not be renewed.

"I knew it was coming, so I beat ‘em to the punch," said the owner of Bruckert’s Chevrolet and a former Bunker Hill mayor. "The GM I knew is gone."

Still, he said, "when you’re sentimental about something, it’s hard to give up."

GM told about 1,100 "underperforming" GM dealerships Friday that their franchise agreements would not be renewed late next year. The cuts came just one day after Chrysler LLC said it would eliminate 789 franchise contracts with dealers, including 10 contracts among nine St. Louis dealers.

But it’s unclear how many GM dealerships in the St. Louis area are affected. Phone calls to more than two dozen local GM dealers drew few responses.

Unlike Chrysler’s list, which the automaker had to make public in bankruptcy court, GM did not release the names of affected dealerships. It let dealers decide to reveal if they were affected.

"We’re in a different situation than Chrysler, where this is not a matter of public record," a GM spokesman said Friday in a conference call.

GM is sprinting toward a June 1 deadline to restructure or file for bankruptcy reorganization. The automaker needs to trim its dealership network to account for the drop in sales and ensure dealers remain profitable, said Mark LaNeve, GM’s vice president of sales, service and marketing.

Beside the underperforming dealers, the automaker plans to trim its ranks by ending or divesting brands, such as Saturn, consolidation and attrition. In total, it plans to drop 2,600 dealerships by the end of next year, leaving GM with about 3,600 dealers.

LaNeve said GM based decisions on sales numbers, profitability, customer service ratings and other performance-related factors. The 1,100 dealerships sold just 7 percent of GM’s 2008 U.S. sales volume, he added.

Once their franchises are gone, dealers will no longer be able to sell new GM vehicles or perform warranty repair.

APPEAL POSSIBLE

Affected dealers learned their fate from overnight FedEx letters that began arriving Friday morning, GM said. The letter stated that GM did not see a "productive business relationship" with the dealer, according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press easy payday loans.

But it also left dealers with some hope.

"Please understand that our planning in this regard is not finalized, and we are prepared to give you until the end of the month to submit any information you would like us to see," the letter said, according to the AP.

GM spokesman Terry Rhadigan would not provide a copy of the letter, but he confirmed that dealers can submit appeals via a website. Rhadigan said he couldn’t estimate when the appeals process would be completed and the list finalized.

Dealerships would not immediately stop their new-vehicle sales but rather wind down operations and sell off inventory by the end of their contracts. The 1,100 dealerships right now have about 65,000 vehicles in inventory, according to GM.

And they won’t necessarily close. Some may continue to operate by selling other automakers’ brands or focusing on used-vehicle sales.

That’s what Bruckert, who has the Bunker Hill dealership, plans to do. His business has been associated with GM since 1938, but Bruckert says he can survive on selling used vehicles and auto service.

GM considers its wind-down approach to be better than terminating franchise contracts.

Some state franchise laws, like those in Missouri, would require GM to buy back existing inventory and possibly pay damages if it ended the agreements early, said Stephen Rovak, a St. Louis partner with Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP.

Letting the contract expire, however, can be more complex. Dealers and GM likely will argue over the portion of Missouri law that says it’s unlawful to "terminate, cancel or refuse to continue any franchise without good cause," said Rovak, who specializes in franchise law.

GM faced a legal headache in 2000, when it decided to ax the Oldsmobile brand and offered buyout packages to its 2,800 dealers. Some sued the company. Ultimately, the automaker paid dealers more than $1 billion.

BANKRUPTCY SPEEDUP?

A bankruptcy filing — which analysts and even GM Chief Executive Fritz Henderson say is more likely than not — could muddy the outcome even more.

In the conference call, LaNeve said a filing would not change the number of dealers to be cut.

"Our plan’s the same, inside or outside bankruptcy," he said.

But it would be easier for GM, in bankruptcy, to speed up the dealership cuts, said Aaron Bragman, an auto industry analyst for IHS Global Insight. Chrysler, for example, expects to complete the sale of its best assets within 30 to 60 days of its April 30 bankruptcy filing and will end its dealership agreements by June 9.

GM’s cuts will impact communities in St. Louis and nationwide by bringing losses in jobs and local tax revenue.

More than 63,000 dealership employees nationwide will be affected by the terminations announced Friday, the National Automobile Dealers Association estimated.

The effect on consumers, meanwhile, is mixed. Fewer new-vehicle dealerships means buyers won’t be able to shop for the best price among several dealers in the same area, Bragman said.

But consumers may find good deals, even on used vehicles. As dealerships close and their new vehicles are dispersed among remaining dealers, there will be an excess of new GM vehicles on lots, which also put pressure on prices of used cars and trucks, said Mark Rikess, chief executive of the Rikess Group, a retail auto consulting firm in Hollywood, Calif.

Rikess — who said he’s advised more than 100 GM and Chrysler dealerships facing closure — is telling his clients to sell down their used vehicle inventory before the influx of new cars. Even if that means selling them at a loss, he added.

Greg Jonsson and Christopher Boyce of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

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Panasonic Corp reported an annual net loss on Friday, battered by weak demand, price falls and restructuring costs, and the Japanese electronics maker forecast a bigger-than-expected loss this year.

The company said its net loss was 379 billion yen ($3.95 billion) for the year ended March 31, down from a 281.88 billion yen profit the previous year.

Panasonic, which vies with Sony Corp for the title of the world’s largest consumer electronics maker, saw its profitability deteriorate as the global recession forced consumers to cut spending on flat TVs and digital cameras.

Panasonic, the world’s No personal loans for bad credit.1 plasma TV maker ahead of Samsung Electronics Co, forecast a net loss of 195 billion yen for the current business year to March, compared with a consensus of a 105.4 billion yen loss in a poll of 17 analysts by Thomson Reuters.

The company’s shares rose 4.8 percent before the results, outperforming a 3.7 percent rise in the Tokyo market’s electrical machinery index .IELEC.T.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Anshuman Daga)

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Federal regulators are investigating the telemarketing practices of companies selling extended auto-service contracts — an industry that is largely based in the St. Louis area.

The Federal Trade Commission won’t confirm or comment on the investigation, yet it is something of an open secret.

In a news conference Tuesday, Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Mark Warner, D-Va., said the FTC soon would file lawsuits against service-contract brokers for violating telemarketing laws, including calling numbers listed on the national "Do Not Call" registry and cold-calling consumers’ cell phones — including the mobile-phone numbers for the senators themselves.

In a letter to Schumer dated Monday, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz wrote, "Law enforcement action in this area can be expected imminently compare car insurance prices." Schumer told the Post-Dispatch Tuesday that Leibowitz "basically assured me that they’re going after these guys."
The St. Louis area is home to at least 32 companies that sell extended auto-service contracts, and insiders say the area is acknowledged within the industry to be its hub. Consumers might not realize that, however, because unsolicited sales calls placed by so-called "robo-dialers" seldom show local numbers on Caller ID screens. Consumers are connected to area call centers only after they’ve shown an interest.

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An aid package for General Motors will likely involve bigger-than-expected sacrifices from taxpayers, unions and the company if the recent concessions required to bailout Chrysler are any indication, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said Tuesday.

The federal and provincial governments had to provide more funds than anticipated in a $3.8-billion (Canadian) deal in April to help Chrysler survive – an amount that was almost as high as the $4 billion initially promised to cover both automakers.

"We came to the table with more money than we originally anticipated," McGuinty said of Chrysler.

"The CAW clearly gave more than they anticipated giving. Some of the concessions placed on creditors south of the border and here in Canada were more than they anticipated.

"But we found a way through it."

GM has until Friday to work out a deal with the Canadian Auto Workers. A June 1 deadline looms over the company to present its restructuring plans to government.

McGuinty said he remains hopeful all sides can come to a deal by the end of the month, saying that Canada and the U.S., along with GM, the union and the creditors all "understand how important it is for us to come together on this sooner rather than later."

"We learned some things along the way with Chrysler and I think we might be able to apply those lessons to GM," he said.

"But the solution for GM is going to look different from the one that we came up with for Chrysler because it's a different entity with different kinds of challenges."

Ontario Opposition leader Bob Runciman said McGuinty's comments should concern taxpayers, since there seems to be no bottom to how much the government is willing to pay.

"There's no question that what he's talking about is probably more job losses and certainly more taxpayer money going into what, at the moment, appears to be a bottomless pit," Runciman said.

Economic Development Minister Michael Bryant said he expected negotiations to go right to the deadline but was working to ensure taxpayers are protected.

"We are in a negotiation and so, certainly, we are taking a hard line on behalf of the taxpayers," Bryant said quick faxless payday loan.

"We don't talk about what the government's bottom line is, frankly, because we need to see some results from all the stakeholders, all the players in this before the government can make a decision."

On Monday, General Motors Corp. CEO Fritz Henderson said he was still holding out hope that the company can restructure without court protection. Still, he added the tasks to complete before June are large and bankruptcy protection is becoming more probable.

The automaker is looking at its operations country-by-country to determine where it might have file for bankruptcy, but he says a U.S. bankruptcy doesn't necessarily mean that GM would file in other locations.

Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement has said Ottawa would prefer a "surgical" process for GM so it can emerge quickly from court protection if bankruptcy is inevitable for the troubled company.

Under Chrysler's restructuring plan, Canada and Ontario will get a two per cent equity stake in a restructured Chrysler LLC and will provide $2.42 billion (U.S.) in new financing to help the company survive. The U.S. government will own eight per cent of the company.

The investment brings Canada's total contribution to the survival of Chrysler so far to $3.775 billion (Canadian) – including $1 billion already promised to the automaker, $750 million of which has already been drawn down.

The province was contributing a total of $1.25 billion, while Ottawa would kick in about $2.5 billion.

In December, Ottawa and Ontario offered loans to General Motors Canada of up to $3 billion and Chrysler Canada up to $1 billion – totals based on the U.S. aid and proportional to their Canadian production.

GM Canada currently employs 10,300 hourly workers in southern Ontario at car and truck plants in Oshawa, a transmission plant in Windsor and an engine plant in St. Catharines. It also operates the GM-Suzuki joint-venture CAMI plant in Ingersoll.

The truck plant in Oshawa is slated for closure this spring while the Windsor transmission plant will close next year.

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NEW YORK–A group of dissident bondholders challenging Chrysler LLC’s government-backed restructuring has dropped its court fight.

The dissolution clears away the largest obstacle to Chrysler LLC’s plan to sell the bulk of its assets to Italy’s Fiat Group SpA.

It is expected to speed the proposed sale of most of Chrysler’s assets to Fiat and make it easier for the Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automaker to leave Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection within 30 to 60 days.

Geoffrey Gwin, chief executive of Group G Capital Partners LLC hedge funds, said yesterday the dissident group’s five remaining members realized they couldn’t mount an effective legal challenge.

But that doesn’t mean they accept the deal that was reached before Chrysler’s insolvency filing, which would exchange the automaker’s $6.9 billion (U.S.) in secured debt for $2 billion.

"We’re still opposing this and not signing the consents, but the active fight has been more challenging," Gwin said cash advance loans.

Thomas Lauria, the group’s lead attorney, stated that the bondholders retreated in the face of "the enormous pressure and machinery of the U.S. government."

Earlier this week, the group said its nine funds represented $295 million, or just 4 per cent, of Chrysler LLC’s total secured debt of $6.9 billion. Previous estimates had pegged the group at 20 members holding $1 billion in debt.

In the days leading up to Chrysler’s bankruptcy filing, four banks holding 70 per cent of its secured debt agreed to the deal, in which they would recoup only about one-third of the original face value of their investments.

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WASHINGTON – The pace of layoffs slowed in April when employers cut 539,000 jobs, the fewest in six months. But the unemployment rate climbed to 8.9 per cent, the highest since late 1983, as many businesses remain wary of hiring given all the economic uncertainties.

The Labor Department tally released Friday wasn't nearly as deep as the 620,000 job cuts that economists were expecting, and was helped by a burst of government hiring. The rise in the unemployment rate from 8.5 per cent in March matched economists' forecasts.

The new report underscored the toll the longest recession since World War II has taken on America's workers and companies. However, the slowdown in layoffs may bolster hopes that the worst of the downturn's hefty job losses are past.

Still, companies will remain cautious in hiring, making it harder for laid-off workers to find new jobs.

If laid-off workers who have given up looking for new jobs or have settled for part-time work are included, the unemployment rate would have been 15.8 per cent in April, the highest on records dating back to 1994. The total number of unemployed now stands at 13.7 million, up from 13.2 million in March.

Companies also kept a tight rein on workers' hours. The average work week in April stayed at 33.2 hours, matching the record low set in March.

Since the recession began in December 2007, the economy has lost a net total of 5.7 million jobs.

As the recession eats into sales and profits, companies have turned to layoffs and other cost-cutting measures to survive the storm. Those including holding down workers' hours, and freezing or cutting pay.

Job losses in February and March turned out to be deeper, according to revised figures. Employers cut 681,000 positions in February, 30,000 more than previously reported. They cut 699,000 jobs in March, more than the 663,000 first reported.

The deepest job cuts of the recession – 741,000 came in January. That was the most since the fall of 1949.

Employers last month cut the fewest jobs since 380,000 in October. Nonetheless, the April job losses were widespread.

Construction companies axed 110,000 jobs, down from 135,000 in March. Factories got rid of 149,000 jobs, down form 167,000 the month before. Retailers cut payrolls by nearly 47,000, less than the nearly 64,000 cut in March. And job losses in financial activities dropped by 40,000, down from 43,000 in the previous month.

The slower pace of job losses – along with 72,000 more government jobs – helped to temper the overall payroll reductions in April.

Looking ahead, economists expect monthly job losses continuing for most – if not all – of this year cash advance today. However, they are hoping the reductions won't be as deep.

Fallout from housing, credit and financial crises – the worst since the 1930s – has hurt America's workers and companies, and the pain will continue. The jobs market traditionally doesn't rebound until well after an economic recovery starts.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke earlier this week gave his most optimistic prediction yet about the end of the recession, saying he expects the economy to start growing again this year – although the comeback could be weak and more jobs will disappear even after a recovery takes hold.

Companies will have little appetite to ramp up hiring until they feel the economy is truly out of the woods and a recovery is firmly rooted.

Against that backdrop, many economists predict the unemployment rate will hit 10 per cent by the end of this year. Bernanke stopped short of that figure, saying it will be somewhere in the 9 per cent range. Regardless, both private economists and Bernanke agree the unemployment rate will keep climbing into next year.

The Fed says unemployment will remain elevated into 2011. Economists say the job market may not get back to normal – meaning a 5 per cent unemployment rate – until 2013.

And the job cuts have continued this week. Steelmaker Severstal International said it's idling plants in Wheeling, W.Va., and Warren, Ohio, resulting in 3,100 layoffs due to the continuing deterioration of the steel industry. Microsoft Corp. said it was starting thousands of the 5,000 job cuts it announced in earlier this year and left the door open to even more layoffs.

Still, glimmers of hope have emerged that the recession may be losing its grip on the country.

The Labor Department on Thursday said the number of newly laid-off workers filing applications for jobless benefits plunged to the lowest level in 14 weeks, a possible sign that the massive wave of layoffs has peaked. Still, the number of unemployed workers drawing benefits climbed to a new record – 6.35 million.

Other reports showed sales at many retailers fared better in April, with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. leading the way.

In the U.S., the economy shrank at faster than a 6 per cent annual rate late last year and early this year, the worst six-month performance since the late 1950s. Analysts think it is still shrinking now – but probably at about half that pace. Many predict the economy could start growing in the third or fourth quarter as tax cuts and government spending on big public works projects included in President Barack Obama's $787 billion stimulus package take hold.

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Anheuser-Busch InBev INTB.BR said it agreed to sell its South Korean Oriental Brewery to private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co for $1.8 billion, allowing the world’s largest brewer to repay debt.

If completed, the buyout would be the biggest private equity purchase in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan since late 2006, when KKR bought Australia’s Seven Network for $2.4 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data.

In a joint statement, the Belgium-based beer company and New York-based KKR said AB-InBev would grant KKR exclusive licenses to distribute certain brands in South Korea, including Budweiser and Hoegaarden.

The deal finally gives a Western private equity firm the chance to put a big chunk of cash to use in Asia after a long deal drought led some buyout shops to downsize or relocate.

AB InBev said it expects the impact on recurring results to be immaterial and expects a non-recurring capital gain of around $500 million. The brewing giant on Thursday announced a better-than-expected increase in quarterly profit.

The deal allows AB InBev to trim its debt, and gives KKR a company with 40 percent share in a $2.8 billion beer market duopoly. No.1 brewer Hite has a 60 percent share.

“The deal is positive for Hite as it reduces the possibility of an all-out marketing war,” said Karen Choi, analyst at Woori Investment & Securities, recalling a damaging marketing war between Hite and OB in 2005-06. “KKR is likely to focus more on profitability than expanding market share.”

KKR, the firm that pioneered the leveraged buyout more than three decades ago, will also have steady cash flows to help pay down its debt used to make the purchase credit report.

OB’s earnings before interest, depreciation, tax and amortization (EBITDA) — a measure of cash flow — were around $200 million, sources close to the deal said previously.

That means KKR is paying around 9 times EBITDA, a multiple analysts said was sensible. AB InBev had initially hoped to get more than $2 billion for the asset.

Given previous acquisitions in the sector commanded multiples of 12 times cash flow or more, the price doesn’t look excessive, said Lee Kyung-min, analyst at HI Investment & Securities.

“It looks like a pretty good deal for KKR,” she said.

A source involved said KKR will pay around 45 percent of the purchase price in cash, a huge equity check for the private equity industry. Buyout firms have typically paid around 25 percent in cash and borrowed the rest.

AB InBev is also offering $300 million in Pay-In-Kind financing for the deal, the source said. The source was not authorized to speak publicly about the financing. The rest of the money will come in loans from banks.

KKR is expected to focus on growing the premium beer business and improving distribution channels within South Korea, the source said, with no interest for now in expanding abroad. 

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