Up to A$2.6 billion in senior debt falls due in February 2013, and about A$900 million in mezzanine debt is due in April 2014, but local media have reported in recent weeks that preliminary talks have already begun with lenders. "We are watching it very closely and thinking about what all the alternatives are," said one source with direct knowledge of the situation, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. The source said there were no talks underway between CVC and the banks and hedge funds holding the debt about a refinancing. "Unless there is a prospect of a default to bring everyone to the table, I think there is up to a couple of years for this to play out," the source said. Options could include a debt refinancing or a debt-for-equity swap. A public listing is thought unlikely given the harsh market conditions. "There are standard updates in the normal course of business," between CVC and the banks, but no talks about a possible refinancing, a second source with direct knowledge told Reuters. The source said Nine had just presented its July accounts to its lenders, which showed earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization were 16 percent ahead of budget. TRAILING RIVAL While the Australian economy had slowed this year, analysts are expecting a pick-up in the A$3 billion TV advertising market will help to boost earnings at Nine, which owns the Nine Network and Australia's largest magazine publisher ACP. Nine has been trailing rival Seven in the ratings this year, but Nine executives are banking on a boost from the London Olympics next year to lift market share. A third source said that there was no prospect of a breach of loan covenants and played down the likelihood of an imminent refinancing of CVC's debt load. "It would be unusual to refinance this far in advance," the source said. A spokeswoman for CVC declined to comment. CVC put about A$1.8 billion of equity into Nine when it bought in 2006, at the peak of the boom when a flurry of private-equity deals were done before debt markets froze up with the credit crisis that started in 2007. Earlier this year, CVC decided to shelve a plan to float Nine given the difficult environment for IPOs. In a weak stock market, the largest listing on the local market this year has been the A$201 million float of fast-food group Collins Foods, owned by buyout firm Pacific Equity Partners, which is trading around 12 percent below its listing price. The Australian newspaper has reported that hedge funds including Oaktree and Och-Ziff now hold between 20 percent and 30 percent of the senior debt. However, one of the sources told Reuters that hedge funds own less than 20 percent of the debt. Rival Australian media company Seven West Media has invited existing lenders to submit proposals to refinance up to A$2 billion of maturing debt, executives said at the annual profit result briefing last month. Seven hopes to finalise the refinancing by the end of this year. Seven West was formed earlier this year when private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts sold its stake in Seven Media Pty Ltd, owned by media baron Kerry Stokes, to West Australian Newspapers Holdings. Shares in Seven West have slipped 3 percent this year, while the third commercial network, Ten Network slumped 36 percent as the economy slowed.