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NYT sells, leases back part of building

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-10 07:48

The New York Times Co said yesterday it gained more financial flexibility by selling 21 floors of its headquarters building in midtown Manhattan for $225 million.

The newspaper will lease back the space from the buyer, investment firm W.P. Carey & Co, under a 15-year contract.

Times shares jumped 21 cents, 5.2 percent, to $4.28 in morning trading.

Like other publishers, the Times company has been seeking different ways of raising cash to pay off debt as advertising sales decline. The company has $350 million in loans coming due over the next two years. Total debt stood at $1.1 billion at the end of 2008.

The company slashed its dividend last fall and suspended it entirely in February, saving $133 million in annual expenses. In January, the company got a $250 million infusion from Mexican telecommunications billionaire Carlos Slim, though the Times is paying Slim a hefty interest rate of 14 percent.

Now the Times is trying to sell its 17.8 percent stake in the group that owns the Boston Red Sox. Barclays Capital analyst Hale Holden has estimated that could fetch $140 million to $160 million.

McClatchy to cut 1,600 jobs

Newspaper publisher McClatchy Co said yesterday that it will shrink its work force by another 15 percent as it contends with sharply declining revenue amid a deepening recession.

The 1,600 job reductions should help the publisher of The Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee and other newspapers meet previously announced plans to save up to $110 million over the next year. McClatchy Treasurer Elaine Lintecum said the company will likely exceed that target, but the company did not release a new estimate.

"The effects of the current national economic downturn make it essential that we move even faster to realign our work force and make our operations more efficient," Chairman and Chief Executive Gary Pruitt said.

Pruitt will take a 15 percent cut in his base salary, while other executives will see their pay reduced by 10 percent. Pruitt got a $1.1 million salary in 2007, the last year for which McClatchy has disclosed his pay.

McClatchy has 30 daily newspapers, about 50 non-dailies and direct marketing and direct-mail operations.

Agencies

(China Daily 03/10/2009 page12)