Sun-Times/Tyree deal finalised

Posted by Jennifer Lush on October 27, 2009 at 11:41 AM

The sale of the Sun-Times Media Group was finalised yesterday, making Chicago financier, Jim Tyree, the owner of more than 50 suburban publications including the flagship Chicago Sun-Times.

Steep losses in advertising revenue left the STMG $801 million in debt and in March it was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankrupcy protection.

After heated negotiations lasting several months, Tyree's deal was finally approved by STMG unions when no bidders came forward in time to meet the official deadline.

It was agreed that employees would accept concessions including: three years of 15 percent benefit cuts, freezing of the company's pension plans but managed to at least win a minimum of 8 weeks severence pay for workers who will lose their job in the first six months of the takeover.

Earlier this month a bankrupcy judge approved the sale, and the papers were signed yesterday. Tyree will pay $5 million for the company itself, and assume some $22 million in liabilities.

The sale comes as many US publications in particular are faced with massive drops in circulation, with data released yesterday recording a ten per cent drop in circulation numbers across the board. Adding to this are the serious financial problems caused by lost advertising revenue in the fallout of the recession. The Sun-Times Media Group is just one of as many as ten publications which have filed for bankrupcy protection status since December last year.

Source: New York Times