O.C. Register publisher files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

publisher of the Orange County Register, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday after the slide in the newspaper industry and the recession made it impossible for the company to repay $770 million in debt.

The Irvine company said the Register and its other newspapers and magazines would continue publishing while it reorganizes its finances in Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. Freedom said most of its lenders would support a pre-negotiated restructuring plan that would ease the company’s debt load.

“Reaching this agreement with our lenders provides us with an orderly process to realign our balance sheet with the realities of today’s media environment,” said Burl Osborne, Freedom’s chief executive.

The company has sufficient cash to fund its daily operations, he said.

As the recession and online competition chewed into newspaper profits the last two years, Freedom has struggled to manage its debt load. The debt is a legacy of the 2004 transaction in which private equity firms Blackstone Group and Providence Equity Partners paid almost $470 million for a 40% stake in the company.  LA Times

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