Citadel Broadcasting Corp., which owns four local stations, 94.5 KSMB, 99.1 KXKC, 104.7 KNEK and 95.5 KRRQ, among its more than 120 across the U.S., is preparing to file for bankruptcy by the end of the year, The Wall Street Journal reported this morning, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Citadel’s long-expected move is yet another reminder of the travails facing media companies, which are up against stiff competition and shifts in consumer habits. Advertising revenues have plunged for newspapers, radio broadcasters and television stations.
For radio companies, overall ad revenue is expected to drop 19% this year, according to research firm BIA/Kelsey.
Under the deal presented to lenders this week, Citadel would file a “prearranged” Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan supported by many creditors. Lenders owed $2 billion would swap a substantial amount of that debt for around 99.5% of the equity in a reorganized company, these people said.
The restructuring would give the group of some 90 lenders control of Citadel. Current shareholders, as in most bankruptcies, would be wiped out.
The lenders have until Tuesday to sign the deal, which would cut Citadel’s debt load to about $760 million, these people said. A group of lenders holding about 40% of the debt —including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and General Electric Co.’s GE Capital—have indicated they support the reorganization, the people said.
The WSJ noted that Las Vegas-based Citadel's representatives didn’t respond to requests for comment on restructuring negotiations, and the company's chief executive, Farid Suleman, declined to comment on any bankruptcy talks. Chuck Wood, who took over as general manager of Citadel's local operations in July, could not be reached for comment this morning. Read the rest of the WSJ story here.
... written by Plumpy , December 11, 2009 - 10:28 pm
i totally understand why..KSMB is trash..i stopped listening to that station back late early 80's..
... written by Right On , December 14, 2009 - 04:32 am
Plumpy, I doubt they miss you. Read the article. The story refers to the corporation itself.
... written by JPM , December 14, 2009 - 03:55 pm
and the "corporation" is ABC Radio. Citadel by itself did fine. its ABC Radio that messed it up.
... written by BusinessMan , December 15, 2009 - 07:07 am
Plumpy I agree with you here. KSMB is trash these days. While their Corporation may be the one in trouble, it trickles down to the little guys. Watch and see my friend.
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There will soon be a whole lot of shakin’ going on at Benny’s Sportshack Supplement Depot, a new concept by Opelousas native Benny Nele. Located at 2002 Johnston St., the supplement shop, smoothie bar and café, featuring hot off the press paninis and wraps, plans to open in late May.
Philip deMahy Sr., a once respected New Iberia ad exec, was sentenced May 2 to spend the next two years (he faced up to 100 years) in a state penitentiary after state and federal investigators found dozens of images depicting children engaged in lewd sexual acts on his personal computer.
This year’s Cool Town issue is all about people who are not native to South Louisiana but made a conscious decision to be here, to be among us, to participate in our culture and contribute to it.
A shelved ordinance transferring $200,000 from a northside drainage project to a south Lafayette development may not break any laws, but it stinks to high heaven.
An effort to restore a shuttered dancehall and document other vacant or razed honky-tonks could serve as a model for saving an endangered species of entertainment.
Lafayette’s gene pool has been host to a long line of eccentric characters who have blurred the lines between crazy, genius, disturbed and curiously entertaining.
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