Morris Publishing Group working to restructure outside bankruptcy court
Atlanta Business Chronicle – by Kimberly Morrison Staff Writer
Morris Publishing Group, the parent company of three daily newspapers in Georgia, on Monday said it’s working with debt holders to keep a restructuring plan out of U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
Details of the agreement struck Friday between debt holders of 75 percent of outstanding notes and the Augusta, Ga.-based media company were provided in an after-hours regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
According to the filing, a successful deal now hinges on the cooperation of a holdout minority.
The disclosed terms of the agreement provide, among other things, “for the restructuring of existing notes through an out-of-court offer (if holders of at least 99 percent of the existing notes participate), and/or a Chapter 11 filing and a plan of reorganization confirmed under the United States Bankruptcy Code.”
Morris on Sept. 25 agreed to terms of a restructuring agreement with the majority holders of outstanding debt to exchange their existing notes for $100 million of new second-lien secured notes. Additionally, Morris affiliates would repay $110 million of $138.75 million in existing senior secured debt.
Morris Publishing operates 13 daily papers, including The Augusta Chronicle, The Savannah Morning News, The Athens Banner-Herald and the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville, Fla.
“This is very good news for Morris Publishing and the Times-Union,” said Gardner Davis, an attorney and partner at Foley & Lardner LLP. “They have reached a basic deal with their note holders to put them on a firm financial footing where they can repay all their debts. Whether they file bankruptcy is not a big issue because they already have a deal with the creditors, so the reorganization is guaranteed to be a success.
“If they need to file bankruptcy because of a few holdout note holders, they are guaranteed success with more than 75 percent of the note holders on board.”
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