CVC looks to sell its magazines business The owner of Nine Entertainment, the Australian media group, is exploring a possible sale of ACP, its magazines business, as one of several options for restructuring its debts. ACP is Australia's biggest magazine publisher by market share and produces titles such as Grazia and the country's top-selling title Women's Weekly. The move follows a failed attempt by CVC last year to seek a deal with lenders to extend the maturity of its debts. The private equity fund had made a proposal to lenders, including Oaktree Capital, to extend the maturity of $2.7bn in senior debt but withdrew it in December for fear of failing to secure enough support. The funds, which are estimated by those involved to own more than 50 per cent of the senior debt, would rather see debt swapped for equity than a debt extension. But CVC and its lenders still have a year to find a solution. CVC said that the company was expected to stay in full compliance with the terms of its debts until they come due in February 2013. It declined to comment on the possible sale of ACP. A Goldman Sachs fund, which has provided 80 per cent of some $985m of junior ranking debt and its advisers, are working with CVC on finding possible buyers for ACP, one of the people said. The private equity house is expected to contact potentially interested parties such Hearst, the US publisher of magazines such as Esquire and Elle, with which it already has a joint venture. It is unclear how much ACP may be worth because Nine is a private company. Consumers spent A$923m ($985.4m) buying a total of 178m officially-audited magazines in the 12 months to December, 2011, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. One of the people with knowledge of the process said that a sale may not generate the price CVC is seeking. A second said a sale would only be considered if it was at an attractive multiple. "They won't sell at a distressed price," the person said. CVC is also considering raising debt financing as markets have begun improving or raising cash from other sources. Another option includes a swap into equity of some of the debt. CVC has written down its investment in Nine to near zero. Nine controls the Channel Nine TV network and a stake in Australian News Channel, owner of Sky News Australia. CVC bought 50 per cent of Nine, formerly called PBL Media, from James Packer, the billionaire Australian gaming tycoon, in 2007, then lifted its stake to 99 per cent. Additional reporting by Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson and David Gelles in New York