Gilmore says debt deal an ‘immediate priority’

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said he believed negotiations with the European Central Bank on debt restructuring would be concluded before the deadline which is now 10 weeks away.

Mr Gilmore described striking a deal on the “promissory note problem” as an “immediate priority” for Government, noting that political agreement with the leaders of other EU countries had already been secured.

“We want to get an overall comprehensive resolution of the promissory note problem . . . We’ve been very clear about wanting to change it. We want to do that in a comprehensive way so that as a country we know where we stand, we know where our finances stand,” he told RTÉ Radio One’s This Week programme.

Offers to INM said to be at lower level

Offers for Independent News & Media’s (INM) South African business have comes in at a lower level than expected, the Sunday Business Post reported.

The company had been looking for offers in the region of €250 million but instead received offers in the region of €150 million, the newspaper said, without citing any source.

The poor response is likely to put pressure on the heavily indebted group to dispose of other assets including its stake in Australian media group APN, the Belfast Telegraph and Newspread, the newspaper reports.

Separately the Sunday Independent – which is owned by INM – reported that Thomas Crosbie Holdings, the owners of the Sunday Business Post, is close to concluding a financial restructuring.