Reader's Digest To File For Bankruptcy Protection

一則半年前傳聞之肯定說法

The debt-strapped publisher of Reader's Digest magazine, one of the country's largest consumer magazines, has agreed to file for bankruptcy protection with its borrowings cut by 75%, as another failure emerged from the recent wave of media-industry buyouts.

The agreement will turn over control of Reader's Digest Association to the company's lenders. The lenders, led by J.P. Morgan Chase, also include GE Capital, Aries Management, Merrill Lynch, Eaton Vance, Regiment Capital and DK Partners.

Private-equity firm Ripplewood Holdings, which led a $1.6 billion buyout of Reader's Digest in 2007, will give up its stake, the company said. The bankruptcy filing is a blow to Ripplewood as its Belgian affiliate pursues a purchase of Opel, the German auto unit of General Motors Co.

Reader's Digest owns a stable of other magazines and media properties, including Every Day With Rachael Ray and cooking Web site AllRecipes.com. The flagship magazine's circulation has been sliding for years, and recently Reader's Digest said it planned to cut out even more of its circulation, which currently stands at more than 8 million, down 12% from a year ago.

Reader's Digest and its lenders have agreed that the company will file for bankruptcy protection in order to convert a 'substantial portion' of its $1.6 billion in secured debt to equity. Some of the lenders will provide a $150 million debtor-in-possession loan to carry Reader's Digest through the bankruptcy process and beyond, the company said Monday. All told, Reader's Digest said it expects its debt load will be cut to $550 million from $2.2 billion.

Reader's Digest didn't pay a $27 million interest payment due Monday. The company said it would use a 30-day grace period to continue discussions with its lenders and that it plans to file for bankruptcy protection no later than the end of the grace period. The company's operations outside the U.S. aren't expected to be part of the bankruptcy filing.

The debtor-in-possession loan is new money for the company, meaning none of its existing loans are being rolled into the facility. Interest on the DIP is 10% over the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, with a Libor floor of 3.5%, according to Standard & Poor's LCD unit. This means that under no circumstances will the lenders earn less than 13.5% annual interest.

Shira Ovide / Kerry Grace Benn






2009年 08月 18日 10:46

美國《讀者文摘》將申請破產保護

美

國發行量最大的雜志《讀者文摘》(Reader's Digest)的出版商債務纏身﹐已同意申請破產保護﹐

將其借款縮減75%。這是最近的媒體行業收購大潮中出現的又一起失敗案例。

按 照協議﹐《讀者文摘》的控制權將移交給該公司的貸款方。其貸款方以摩根大通公司(JP Morgan Chase)為首﹐還包括通用金融(GE Capital)、Aries Management、美林公司(Merrill Lynch)、基金公司Eaton Vance、Regiment Capital和DK Partners。

私 募股權公司Ripplewood Holdings於2007年主導了以16億美元收購《讀者文摘》的行動﹐該公司稱將放棄其股權。Ripplewood的比利時分支試圖收購通用汽車 (General Motors Co.)旗下德國汽車子公司歐寶(Opel)﹐《讀者文摘》申請破產對其顯然是個打擊。

《讀者文摘》擁 有眾多其他雜志和媒體資產﹐包括食品生活類雜志Every Day With Rachael Ray和烹飪網站AllRecipes.com。其最重要的《讀者文摘》雜志的發行量多年來一直下滑﹐不久前《讀者文摘》表示計劃進一步縮減發行量﹐目前 為800多萬﹐較上年同期下降了12%。

《讀者文摘》與其貸款方已達成一致﹐該公司將申請破產保護﹐以將其16億美元擔保債務的一大部分 轉換為證券。《讀者文摘》週一表示﹐一些貸款方將提供1.5億美元的“債務人持有破產資產”(DIP)貸款﹐以幫助《讀者文摘》通過破產程序以及後續事 宜。《讀者文摘》表示﹐預計其負債總額將從22億美元縮減至5.5億美元。

《讀者文摘》沒有支付週一到期的一筆2,700萬美元的利息。該公司表示﹐其將利用30天的寬限期繼續與貸款方討論﹐並計劃在寬限期截止前提出破產保護申請。該公司在美國之外的業務預計不在破產申請之內。

債務人持有破產資產貸款是為該公司提供的新資金﹐意味著其現有貸款不會計入。據標準普爾LCD的數據顯示﹐債務人持有破產資產貸款的利率較倫敦銀行同業拆息(Libor)高10%﹐而倫敦銀行同業拆息基準為3.5%。這就意味著貸款方收益年利率絕不會低於13.5%。

Shira Ovide / Kerry Grace Benn