Lee Enterprises, one of the industry's biggest newspaper publishers and a partner with Gannett in Tucson, Ariz., said today it will file for bankruptcy court protection on or about Dec. 12, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is now reporting.
The announcement came after efforts failed to reach an out-of-court refinancing deal with lenders.
Lee said earlier this year it would seek a "prepackaged" Chapter 11 bankruptcy if it failed to refinance $904.5 million in debt that matures in April 2012, the Post-Dispatch says.
In a press release today, the publisher said that filing a pre-packaged plan would allow the company to restructure its debts and exit bankruptcy in 60 days or less.
Lee, based in Davenport, Iowa, and GCI are in a 50/50 partnership that publishes the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson; it's one of four papers where it holds an interest. Overall, Lee owns 48 dailies, including the Post-Dispatch.
Lee shares closed at 53 cents, down 1 cent. In after-hours trading, shares rose 15 cents. GCI shares jumped 65 cents, closing at $11.91, up nearly 6%.
In a press release today, the publisher said that filing a pre-packaged plan would allow the company to restructure its debts and exit bankruptcy in 60 days or less.
Lee, based in Davenport, Iowa, and GCI are in a 50/50 partnership that publishes the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson; it's one of four papers where it holds an interest. Overall, Lee owns 48 dailies, including the Post-Dispatch.
Lee shares closed at 53 cents, down 1 cent. In after-hours trading, shares rose 15 cents. GCI shares jumped 65 cents, closing at $11.91, up nearly 6%.
A miserable Christmas ahead for those employees. And what happens to the company pension plan? Lee is about as crappy as Journal Register, Tribune and worst of all, the Big G.
ReplyDeleteEveryone spend your weekend looking for work in another industry.
Maybe Gannett's acquisitions veep will find something in the Lee junk pile to acquire. Unless, of course, ther is Rudd Davis publication to purchase at way above it's actual value.
ReplyDeleteSee 7:23 you and your pals don't get it. Gannett makes money. Nowhere near bankruptcy. You might hate the leadership but the company makes money. Sorry
ReplyDelete7:53PM, exactly why I think this company is ran by money hungry blood suckers! In the first 3 quarters of this year, Gannett has made 341 million in NET INCOME. So explain to me why we need furloughs?
ReplyDeleteThe difference between Gannett and Lee...Lee pays it's folks well. Gannett doesn't. Gannett still in business. Lee bankrupt
ReplyDeleteLee let all it's Publishers go in Wisconsin.
ReplyDelete9:13 I get it. Can I just ask what would be ok to make profit...$1 million? Just asking. Maybe 10 or 100 million. I mean what is ok with you. Obviously 341 million isn't enough for investors. So what is the right number of profit.
ReplyDelete8:04AM, 9:13PM here. The way I look at it is, all the cuts have decimated our paper. Stories sitting on the web site for 5-7 DAYS, the Monday paper the size of inserts and no leadership. Someone needs to have the guts like Neuharth did during the launch of USATODAY and tell Wall Street, "You're not going to like us for a while". Cutting corners like they have is not productive to recovery.
ReplyDeleteJim, did you notice that the Arizona Daily Star is not included in Lee's bankruptcy filing? Any idea why? Did Gannett not want the Star to be part of the filing because of the 50/50 ownership split? And what does it mean if the Star is not part of the filing but is presumably still part of the collateral for the loans taken out by Pulitzer before it was acquired by Lee? Does the fact that the Star isn't part of the filing make it easier for Gannett to acquire the Star?
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Mary Junck will return some of the millions she's been paid by the company, now that she's run it into the ground? You know, as in "pay for performance." Nah...
ReplyDelete8:04 you need to take a business course. The answer to your question is NO. You may hate Wall Street but your post is nit how it works. The company is owned by institutional investors. Make less money and they break up the company (yes we know you'd like that) and then the new owners fire half of the remaining staff. Don't believe me? Go call your friends at the paper in San Diego. They fired almost everyone and now they are trying to sell the Masthead
ReplyDeleteHey 2:12 can you read? I read that post and its the opposite of what you speakin about. I think his point was to the other guys point that 300 million was too much and should be used for employees. The investors, though, think that is way, way too little. Yes that means cuts but that's the thaat may be the only way to save jobs. So I think 2:12 missed hiz point.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/19/risk-list-2-10_Lee-Enterprises_XZ3U.html
ReplyDeleteBy the way, what is the trick hidden within the "prepackaged" bankruptcy-filing distinction, which protects "shareholders"? Also, how they gonna pay the ADDITIONAL debt they're proposing to pile on with new Junck bonds, assuming some judge doesn't just toss this transparent stunt out? More cuts, that's how.
ReplyDeleteJunck is a poster child for how CEOs are not held to the same standards as their underlings. Under her watch, Lee sold all its tv stations to become a "pure" newspaper company, overpaid grossly for Pulitzer and St Louis, watched its stock price go from the 40s to under a buck and now finally can't avoid bankruptcy under the weight of debt. Any underling with that track record of sustained failure would be long gone, fair or not. This is a company that really used to stand for something with mid-sized papers that were innovators.
ReplyDeleteMany departments at the Arizona Daily Star are starved for resources. After the layoffs in July, there have been instances where there was no one who knew how to perform vital tasks that the laid off people did. Morale in the building is low and the employees that remain are struggling to get daily tasks finished. Now throw in a bankruptcy filing. This likely means at the minimum more of the same, and possibly more cuts.
ReplyDeleteHow many people work at the Star?
ReplyDelete