Canwest Media has secured an April 7 extension on talks with its bankers to rejig its $300-million credit facility, as it opens up a second channel of talks with lenders to recapitalize the company. In February, lenders cut Canwest’s access to the credit facility to $112 million. The latest extension will allow the Canwest Global subsidiary to continue shopping assets to raise cash to rework its balance sheet.

At the same time, Canwest said it will not make a payment of US$30.4 million to U.S. bondholders on US$761 million in senior notes. The broadcaster has until April 14 to make the payment before the U.S. bondholders can demand payment of the US$761 million principal. To meet that separate deadline, Canwest has launched talks with ‘an ad hoc committee’ of the bondholders to allow ‘sufficient time for a recapitalization of Canwest that is satisfactory to all of its stakeholders, including its senior lenders and noteholders.’

In an internal memo to employees, Canwest Global CEO Leonard Asper said the company is paying its short-term creditors on time. ‘We continue to show traction on our restructuring plans and our singular focus on getting through the current challenges to emerge a stronger company,’ Asper said. The memo added that Canwest Global has $30 million in cash on hand and another $20 million available from its line of credit that provides sufficient operating capital until the new bank deadline of April 7. Asper also said Canwest Global has paid down $80 million of its debt burden, which currently stands at around $3.7 billion.