Mexican magnate's firm says it's too poor to pay US bondholders the tens of millions owed

abcnews.go.com:

The company run by Mexican TV, retail and banking magnate Ricardo Salinas Pliego says it has failed to reach agreement with bondholders in the United States who are owed tens of millions of dollars in past-due payments

MEXICO — The company run by Mexican TV, retail and banking magnate Ricardo Salinas Pliego said Tuesday it had failed to reach agreement with bondholders in the United States who are owed tens of millions of dollars in past-due payments.

Salinas Pliego's TV Azteca company issued a statement Tuesday saying it needed a restructuring of bonds that come due in 2024 because business was so bad.

TV Azteca said it had been in a U.S. court-ordered mediation with bondholders since September, but that process concluded when “the parties were unable to reach a consensual resolution.”

According to the statement, the dispute involves about $400 million in bonds, with about $105 million in past-due payments.

It is an usual situation for Salinas Pliego, who frequently takes to his social media accounts to hand out money or merchandise, and posts photos showing his lavish lifestyle, with yachts and expensive vehicles.

He also often posts strings of stinging insults targeting political figures he disagrees with.

According to the company statement, the bondholders wanted $105 million paid when a deal was reached, in exchange for a restructuring that would grant a six-year extension to 2030 on full repayment.

TV Azteca offered a $45 million initial payment and a mix of six- and eight-year extensions on the bonds’ due dates.

The company said it had been hit by the coronavirus pandemic, a decline in advertising, “the continued deterioration of the TV broadcasting industry and Mexico’s economy as well as additional pressures