UPDATE 1-Independent gets longer credit, launches overhaul

* Restructuring starts with equity issue Thursday

* Gets new 745 million euro credit facility (Adds quotes, detail)

DUBLIN, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Irish group Independent News & Media (INME.I) (INME.L) said it secured longer-dated debt to replace much of its existing facilities as it launched the first phase of a plan to repay an overdue 200 million euro bond.

The publishing group, whose longest-dated debt was due to expire in 2012, with hundreds of millions already due next year, said it had secured a new credit facility of about 745 million euros ($1.1 billion) with a final maturity of "up to May 2014."

The new credit facility is conditional on the successful completion of the restructuring, which holders of the 200 million euro paper, originally due in May, approved on Tuesday.

It will start with the issue of 723.2 million shares on the London and Dublin exchanges on Thursday, to give the bondholders a 46 percent equity stake.

Subject to shareholder approval on Nov. 26, the second stage of the process will be a rights issue to come up with the remainder of the 200 million euros.

The rights issue will be fully underwritten by the bondholders, who will end up with a combined stake of almost 48 percent if all existing shareholders subscribe to the issue.

The family of Chief Executive Gavin O'Reilly, and second biggest shareholder Denis O'Brien, who have been at odds over the best way to deal with the debt pile, will remain the two biggest individual stakeholders at the end of the process.

If existing investors do not subscribe to the rights issue, bondholders would end up with a combined 76 percent stake in the group, which owns newspapers from Auckland to London. (Reporting by Andras Gergely; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)