Byron Allen's Allen Media Group is preparing for significant cost reductions as it faces looming debt maturities. The company, which owns The Weather Channel and several television stations, has retained Moelis & Co. and Kirkland & Ellis as legal counsel to navigate this period. This move comes as Allen Media's debt has been trading at distressed levels, with its $840 million term loan, due in 2027, recently trading at approximately $0.65 on the dollar, a decline from $0.88 in May.
In addition to the 2027 term loan, Allen Media also has a $100 million revolving credit facility maturing in February 2025, which S&P Global Ratings noted was nearly fully utilized in a July report. S&P subsequently lowered Allen Media's credit rating to CCC+ from B-, citing "elevated refinancing risk due to its substantial debt burden" and viewing the capital structure as "unsustainable." The ratings firm indicated that Allen Media has a very limited ability to afford current market interest rates on its term loan.
Despite these challenges, a company representative stated that Allen Media is "100 percent in compliance with all of our lenders" and expressed confidence in refinancing the term loan by or before its February 2027 due date. The company also anticipates a boost in cash flow over the coming months from political advertising revenue due to the upcoming US elections in November. During a recent earnings call, management outlined year-over-year gains for the second quarter and projected EBITDA to exceed $300 million this year. Allen Media has previously explored asset sales, including divesting 10 television stations to Gray Media for $171 million in August 2025, a move that the company characterized as rebalancing its portfolio and significantly reducing debt.
