Minneapolis Star Tribune Files For Bankruptcy

 

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (January 16, 2009) – The rumors that have been floating around for months about the Minneapolis Star Tribune's possible bankruptcy have come true. The state's largest daily newspaper filed for Chapter 11 protection last night in New York.

The Star Tribune says the move is intended to help them restructure their debt and lower labor costs. The paper is owned by New York-based Avista Capital Partners, who bought the Star Tribune from McClatchy less than two years ago for $530 million.

Publisher Chris Harte told readers that the filing would have no impact on any of the newspaper's operations, news gathering, delivery, or advertising.

The Star Tribune has missed "several" payments to their lenders, a news story in the paper says today. The bankruptcy filing was made in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the southern district of New York. In the filing the newspaper listed assets of $493.2 million and liabilities of $661.1 million.

The newspaper has been the 10th-largest Sunday newspaper in the United States with a circulation of 552,000, and the 15th-largest daily newspaper with a circulation of 334,000.

Talks between the Star Tribune and the Newspaper Guild ended a week ago when they were unable to agree on management's requests for concessions, and the Guild says they were not given prior notice before the paper filed for bankruptcy.

 

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