VNU Media, the Dutch publisher, has agreed a deal with lenders to more than halve its €199m debts as part of a restructuring to leave 3i – its original owner – sharing control of the business with its managers and HIG Capital, one of its creditors.

3i, the UK’s oldest private equity group, and private equity fund HIG have agreed to provide the €17.2m in new funds to the company as part of a deal that will see creditors write down its debt to less than €100m. HIG had bought some of the company’s debt at a discount over recent months, according to a person familiar with the situation.