Relativity Claims $100 Million in New Financing for Post-Bankruptcy Operations

Ryan Kavanaugh’s company announces investments ahead of Feb. 1 court hearing on reorganization plan

ryan Kavanaugh
ryan Kavanaugh

Relativity Media has received $100 million in financing commitments in advance of a final hearing on its reorganization plan next week, the company announced on Monday.

The new funding includes more than “$100 million in additional commitments from investors,” which include CEO Ryan Kavanaugh, hedge fund honcho Joseph Nicholas, Macquarie Bank, Alphabet (formerly Google) CEO Eric Schmidt’s TomorrowVentures and Carat Global.

The new financing is in addition to $180 million in senior debt acquired by Kavanaugh and Nicholas, as well as an ultimates loan being syndicated by GHL & Company and Aperture Media Partners. The company said Carat Global has also agreed to extend credit for Relativity’s P&A capital, making its debt “much less than expected.”

“With the total financing commitments now successfully in place, we remain focused on emerging from chapter 11 and moving forward with our robust slate of films and our continued evolution as a 360 degree content engine,” Kavanaugh said.

The news comes after a string of recent developments in Kavanagh’s bid to bring his company out of bankruptcy, including the hiring of Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti as Chairman and President of the company’s movie division, respectively, and a challenge to Relativity’s Chapter 11 reorganization plan by Netflix in a New York bankruptcy court last week.

In documents obtained by TheWrap, Netflix counsel said there’s “considerable doubt” as to who is running the show, with Kavanaugh, Spacey and Brunetti all claiming lofty job titles, and Nicholas’ substantial investment potentially making him a decision maker as well.

Relativity has been embroiled in protracted Chapter 11 proceedings, the reorganization plan for which is scheduled for final review by a bankruptcy judge on Feb. 1.

The plan filed in November and amended several times since includes a slate of seven films funded in part by a new P&A/ultimates loan of up to $250 million. It also calls for a $100 million capital increase.

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