The High Court has appointed an examiner to Princes Holdings, which trades as the cable television company Chorus. The court heard that the company had debts of €385m.
The news followed an announcement earlier that Independent News & Media had agreed to sell its 50% stake in the company to current 50% owner Liberty Media for an undisclosed sum.
Independent had previously said that it did not intend to hold onto its stake in Princes Holdings, the holding company for Chorus, in the long-term.
Chorus employs 550 people and has a customer base of 200,000. Its chief executive Phil Freedman said it would continue to provide services to customers as usual.
In court today, Justice Peter Kelly appointed John McStay as examiner. The court was told that Chorus was confident of its future viability as Liberty Media intended to invest in the company when the examinership process was completed and was in talks with bankers to settle Chorus's debts.
Liberty, controlled by tycoon John Malone, has holdings in the US, Europe, Latin America and Asia, including in home shopping channel QVC and the cable channels Discovery.
Last week Liberty snapped up a 9% voting interest in Rupert Murdoch's News Corp empire.
