Debt in two deals selling at 70% of par

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Permira have reportedly acquired a portion of the debt in ProSiebenSat.1, the struggling German television company the firms agreed to purchase a 50.5 percent stake in for €3.1 billion in December 2006.

KKR Fixed Income, the credit investment arm of KKR, acquired approximately €100 million of leveraged loans, issued by ProSiebenSat.1’s holding company, at 70 cents on the euro, according to the Financial Times.

KKR declined to comment.

Permira Debt Managers, the debt arm of the UK buyout firm, acquired a smaller amount of the same debt, according to the report.

SVG Capital, the London-listed asset management group that is the largest investor in Permira, last month wrote down the value of ProSiebenSat.1 Media by £79.8 million (€99 million; $146 million), or nearly 80 percent.

SVG said that ProSiebenSat.1 had encountered problems when it introduced a new advertising sales model at the beginning of 2008.

Separately, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the underwriters of the bonds of Clear Channel Communications are struggling to find buyers for the debt.

Thomas H Lee Partners and Bain Capital purchased Clear Channel Communications in July for $17.9 billion.

Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia initially hoped to sell $980 million in bonds to investors in the mid-70-cent range, according to the report. However, the banks were able to sell only $228 million of bonds at 70 cents on the dollar.

The selling price means, excluding fee income from the deal, a loss of around $68.4 million for the underwriting banks, said the Journal.

The underwriters are also holding $1.33 billion higher risk pay-in-kind toggle notes, said the report, which have not yet been shopped to investors.