Radio station owner NextMedia files for bankruptcy

* Lists total debt of $100 mln to $500 mln

Dec 21  - NextMedia Group Inc filed for bankruptcy protection under a pre-arranged plan that will hand over control of the U.S. radio station operator and outdoor advertising company to certain creditors, court papers showed.

NextMedia's first lien debt and general unsecured claims will be paid in full while second lien debt will be converted into 95 percent equity in the reorganized company, said Eric Neumann, its chief financial officer, in an affidavit.

The privately held company listed total debt of $100 million to $500 million in its Chapter 11 filing.

The company also said its second lien lenders had agreed to provide debtor-in-possession financing of $20 million to continue operations while in bankruptcy.

In a statement on its website, NextMedia said the reorganization process will have no impact on day-to-day operations and will not result in any changes to senior management or any reduction to employee headcount.

Following the reorganization, the company expects to have total debt of about $128 million, it said.

Greenwood Village, Colorado-based NextMedia operates 36 AM and FM radio stations and has just under 500 employees.

The case is In re: NextMedia Group Inc, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No : 09-14463. (Reporting by Santosh Nadgir in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)