Electronic music concert producer SFX Entertainment Inc. filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday to execute a deal that wipes $300 million in debt from its balance sheet and takes the company private, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The deal, a debt-for-equity swap with bondholders, provides $115 million in bankruptcy financing to allow the company to continue normal operations during the bankruptcy case. The deal will also usher in a new chief executive, to succeed current CEO and Chairman Robert F.X. Sillerman. SFX’s bankruptcy filing comes weeks after the company skipped a $3 million interest payment to bondholders, who quickly declared the company in default on the $5.8 million balance of the bond. The company’s $220 million in senior bond debt and $30 million revolving credit facility each contained cross-default provisions, but neither investor group declared a default at that time. In the days that followed, SFX announced $20 million in fresh financing that allowed the company to continue negotiating with debtholders.
