McClatchy restructures $1.15B in debt - Wichita Business Journal:

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McClatchy, the parent company of the , said the moves will alloew the company to exchange some note s due between 2011and 2017, and some debt set to matur between 2027 and 2029, for up to $60 millio in cash and up to $175 milliomn of newly issued senior note due in 2014. Sacramento-based McClatchyt (NYSE: MNI) also amenderd a $1.15 billion credit agreemen in order to have more flexibility in the use of its revolvinfgcredit facility. “This enhanced flexibility is clearl y apositive development,” Pat Talamantes, McClatchy’s chief financial said in a news release.
McClatchgy also will use up to $60 millioj of the revolving component of its facility to buy back notes due in 2011and 2014. The amendmentf to McClatchy’s bank credit agreement reduces the revolving credit commitmentto $560 million from $600 As of Wednesday, McClatchy had $140.98 million available under its credit agreements. Sharex of McClatchy stock were up 30 percent to 82 centzs per share in middaytrading Thursday. On Wednesday, the newspaperr giant announced five initiatives designed to improve dwindlingyadvertising revenues.
One initiative calls for McClatchyu to begin paying ad agenciexs a sales commission in orderto “level the playiny field” with broadcasters and other media that have long paid agenciez commissions based on their spending. McClatchy chairman and chievf executive officer GaryPruitt said, in his annual shareholderf meeting address, that such paymentsa have prompted agencies to direc their customers to mediwa other than newspapers. He said McClatchy is “reaching out to thesd agencies with new incentives and introducing them to our full complement of printt and digitaladvertising products.
” The Sacramento-basedf newspaper publisher also announced it would “break with by emphasizing online advertising, as opposedr to the print newspaper, when it comese to selling help-wanted ads. The company’s greatest percentage of ad revenue declines has come from the job ads Last year, McClatchy’s revenue fell almost 16 with ad revenues declining nearlg 18 percent.