MediaNews Group to file for bankruptcy protection

Affiliate Media Inc, holder of MediaNews, the second largest newspaper group in the US and publisher of Denver Post, San Jose Mercury News and the Oakland Tribune plans to seek bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11, a statement released Friday said.

The media major said that it has obtained the approval of its lenders to a financial restructuring of the company to reduce its debt and improve the cash flow through a 'prepackaged' Chapter 11 filing.

Denver, Colorado-based MediaNews Group is one of the largest privately held newspaper companies in the US spread throughout California, the Rocky Mountain region and the Northeast. The company operates 54 daily newspapers and over 100 non-daily newspapers in 12 states with combined daily and Sunday circulation of approximately 2.4 million and 2.7 million, respectively.

The media company also owns a television station, a CBS affiliate in Alaska, and operates radio stations in Texas.

The restructuring would provide for the swap of debt for equity by senior lenders of the company, thereby reducing the overall debt burden nearly six times from $930 million to $165 million.

The statement said that there would not be any change in control of the company, and its chairman and CEO, William Dean Singleton will lead the management. Singleton and the company president Joseph J. Lodovic IV will own all class A shares of the company entitling them to elect a majority of the board of directors, while other shareholders will own class B and class C shares.