Misery Index

THE NEW YORK TIMES

The New York Times, the third-largest U.S. newspaper, is facing a $400 million debt repayment in May and may borrow as much as $225 million against its Manhattan headquarters although it only owns 58% of the building.

The NYT, which finished the third quarter with $46 million in cash and equivalents, must refinance or repay a $400 million credit line that expires in May.  The company has about $366.3 million remaining under a second credit agreement that becomes payable in June 2011.

Last month, the NYT said October ad revenue at its newspapers fell 17.2% and classified sales dropped nearly 35%.

In the third quarter, NYT’s total advertising revenue dropped 14% and classified sales dropped 29%.

What the NYT Has (Short Term)

  ■  $46 million in cash
  ■  $366 million owned to it by advertisers

What the NYT Owes (Short Term)

  ■  $398 million of short-term debt due in May
  ■  $161 million of accounts payable (Newsprint, travel, etc.)
  ■  $100 million of payroll 
  ■  $159 million of other expenses
  ■  $50 million owned on long-term debt and rent

Grand total:  $865 million

Short Term Bottom line:  The NYT owes $453 million more than it has, thus it has a negative net wroth in the hundreds of millions.

What the NYT Has (Long Term)

  ■  $1.355 billion of buildings, real-estate, printing presses, trucks, etc.
  ■  $146 million of investments in joint ventures (Red Sox, etc.)

Total:  $1.501 billion

What the NYT Owes (Long Term)

  ■  $673 million of long-term debt
  ■  $7 million of long-term rent
  ■  $284 million of pension benefits
  ■  $214 million of retiree healthcare and other benefits
  ■  $290 million of other liabilities

Total:  $1.468 billion

Bottom Line:  The NYT has only about $33 million more than it owes.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE, LOS ANGELES TIMES, BALTIMORE SUN, ORLANDO SENTINEL

The publisher of the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times declared bankruptcy on Monday.  Tribune Co., which owns eight major daily newspapers and several television stations, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after collapsing under a heavy debt load just a year after real estate mogul Sam Zell took it private.  It too is suffering from declining advertising revenue and circulation and maybe just bad business.

A year ago Zell loaded up the privately held publisher with about $8 billion in additional debt when he took the company private in a transaction largely financed by company contributions to an employee stock option plan.

As it sits, Tribune Co. had about $7.6 billion in assets and $12.97 billion in debt as of December 8, according to its bankruptcy filing.

The filing however, does not include Tribune’s Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball team or its ballpark, Wrigley Field – both of which Zell has struggled to sell.

Tribune Co. has said its unsecured creditors include J.P. Morgan Chase & Co’s JPMorgan Chase Bank with an $8.57 billion claim under a senior faculty, and Merrill Lynch & Co Inc’s Merrill Lynch Capital Corp with a $1.6 billion claim under a bridge loan facility.

Tribune Co. wholly owns “ForSalebyowner.com”, and partially owns CareerBuilder and Topix.  They are also owners of the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field, Tribune Media Services, Brass Ring, Zap2it, Chicago Magazine, Channel Guide Magazine, and partial owners of Classified Ventures, LLC.

The newspapers that Tribune Co owns are:  AM New York, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, RedEye (Chicago), Baltimore Sun, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel, Hartford Courant (CT), Morning Call (Allentown, PA), Daily Press (Newport News, VA), Hoy (Chicago, Los Angeles), and El Sentinel (Orlando, South Florida).

In addition to owning the WGN-720 radio station, Tribune Co. also has assets in TV shows such as Andromeda, Mutant X, BeastMaster, Family Feud, South Park, Soul Train, Candid Camera, Ron Hazleton:  House Calls, Pet Keeping, City Guys, and Earth:  Final Conflict.

Tribune Co, owns 23 television stations, which are expected to be hit by the typical advertising declines that follow major elections and also owns Chicagoland’s Television, better known as CLTV, a 24-hour cable news station based in Oak Brook, IL.

The stations that Tribune Co owns are:

OTHER NEWSPAPERS

Media reports say McClatchy Co has approached potential buyers about a sale of the Miami Herald; The Minneapolis Star-Tribune is restructuring while its owner, private equity firm Avista Capital Partners, has skipped debt payments.

SOURCES:

• Bloomberg
• Silicon Alley Insider
• Market Watch
• Reuters
• Wipikedia