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Bankruptcy cases moving to resolutions
From staff reports
As they work their ways through bankruptcy reorganization plans, three companies with multiple newspaper properties in Georgia are reporting good progress.
Triple Crown Media, owner of seven Georgia newspapers, announced in early December that its plan for reorganization had been approved, and that it was moving forward with the necessary debt and stock transactions. GoldenTree Asset Management L.P. will manage funds holding a majority of the company's new common stock.
"Our management team is delighted by the restructuring, and we look forward to working with GoldenTree to create value for all our constituents," said Michael J. Gebhart, executive vice president for Triple Crown and publisher of The Albany Herald.
Triple Crown owns six dailies in Georgia, including The Herald, News Daily of Jonesboro, Gwinnett Daily Post of Lawrenceville, Henry Daily Herald of McDonough, Newton Citizen of Covington and Rockdale Citizen of Conyers. It also owns the weekly Jackson Progress-Argus.
"We are overjoyed that our de-leveraged capital structure will now allow us to invest in and grow our business, to the benefit of our readers, our employees, our lenders and our new owners," Gebhart said.
Under the plan, Triple Crown's approximately $40 million of existing first lien senior secured debt will be assumed and reinstated by the reorganized company. All other creditors will be paid in full.
Days after Triple Crown's Chapter 11 reorganization plan received approval in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Heartland Publications LLC filed a Chapter 11 plan.
The company, based in Connecticut, operates 50 paid-circulation newspapers and numerous other free or controlled-distribution products in nine states, including the LaGrange Daily News and Thomaston Times in Georgia.
It announced that it had reached an agreement with the majority of its secured first-lien holders on a financial restructuring that will reduce the company debt by more than half and create a new capital structure. The reorganization could be completed by early spring.
"We have built Heartland Publications into one of the best-performing newspaper companies in the country," said President and CEO Michael C. Bush. "And we have made great strides to reduce costs as we have made investments into online and other new products and revenue streams.
"The only problem we have not been able to fix is our balance sheet, which was not predicated on either a severe recession or substantial reduction in newspaper valuations. With the support of our senior lenders, we have voluntarily entered Chapter 11 as the most expeditious way to achieve the kind of balance sheet we will need for future growth. Once we have successfully delivered the company, we will seek new opportunities to grow Heartland in current and new markets."
All of the company's newspapers are operating as normal during the bankruptcy period.
The seven Georgia Press Association member newspapers of Morris Publishing Group are also operating normally as that company planned to put in motion a prepackaged bankruptcy plan that had the support of 75 percent of the company's creditors in mid-January. If accepted by the court, the plan will allow Morris Publishing to exchange $100 million in new debt for $278.5 million in existing debt.
The seven newspapers include the Athens Banner-Herald, The Augusta Chronicle, Columbia County News-Times of Evans, Jefferson Reporter/News & Farmer of Louisville, The McDuffie Mirror of Thomson, Savannah Morning News and The Sylvania Telephone.
- The Albany Herald, Heartland Publications LLC, Morris Communications
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