Ziff Davis Restructuring Debt; Won’t Make Interest Payments
By Rafat Ali - Wed 15 Aug 2007 12:17 PM PST
Ziff Davis Holdings, which recently sold off a chunk of itself, still doesn’t have enough cash. The company is exploring a debt restructuring (it has about $390 million in debts) and has decided not to pay an interest payment due today. On July 31, Ziff Davis closed a deal to sell Ziff Davis Enterprise, which publishes magazines such as eWEEK and CIO Insight, as well as websites, for about $160 million to Insight Venture Partners. Ziff Davis, which still has consumer small business and gaming publication divisions, says it “expects to conduct business as usual while it explores its restructuring options.” Would that mean a possible Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection? Not that they’re saying anything yet, but new CEO Jason Young told Folio: “We expect we’ll be able to restructure our debt outside of the courts.”
Young acknowledged a “challenging print environment,” but said in a statement that digital products and events are doing well. In May, the company released Q1 numbers that showed revenues down 19 percent. However, EBITDA was up 15 percent, driven by digital revenues, which increased 9 percent.
The company said today it has decided to delay releasing its Q2 filings until August 20--to review details of the sale of the Enterprise Group--so real details on the company’s financial situation won’t be available until then. More details in release.
Posted in: Information, Biz & Fin
