Creative Loafing bankruptcy numbers

[rowrrbazzle]

“What is the value of Creative Loafing? An in-depth analysis” http://blog.fourcher.net/2009/08/what-is-the-value-of-the-chicago-reader-an-in-depth-analysis.html

“Will the Creative Loafing Managers Line Up?” Will the Creative Loafing Managers Line Up? - Chicago Reader

via How Much is a Free Paper Worth? - Gapers Block Chicago

[leander]

@rowrrbazzle

“What is the value of Creative Loafing? An in-depth analysis” http://blog.fourcher.net/2009/08/what-is-the-value-of-the-chicago-reader-an-in-depth-analysis.html

“Will the Creative Loafing Managers Line Up?” http://www.chicagoreader.com/TheBlog/archives/2009/08/07/will-the-creative-loafing-managers-line-up

via How Much is a Free Paper Worth? - Gapers Block Chicago

That first article is fascinating. I guess we’ll all know a lot more about the future of CL after August 25.

[leander]

It looks like some interesting activityalready.

According to documents filed in the case, Atalaya will present the opening bid of be $2.2 million. It appears that any amount above $2.5 million will go toward paying back a portion — $18 million — of the $30 million owed to Atalaya.

The winning bidder also will have to take on a loan to repay the remaining $12 million owed to Atalaya — meaning that if no bid tops $2.5 million, Atalaya will still recover $12 million of its loss.

Eason has expressed concern that Atalaya could bid as high as $20 million at auction and simply pay itself back.

[astro]

It gives some perspective that the SD board is so insignificant as a entity we are not even a pimple on the butt of that financial buffalo.

[leander]

I agree this board is pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of CL, but I will be following the proceedings tomorrow and Tuesday because it may have a significant impact on this place.

If Atalaya wins there is a good chance they will have a fire sale despite claiming otherwise. The board - probably bundled in with Cecil’s column and the website - could be sold off to anyone (even you - yes you, you know who I’m talking about ;)).

Frankly I would imagine that Atalaya would be interested in serious offers from day one, as they need to recoup an enormous amount of cash.

If Eason wins (which seems highly unlikely to me) then business as usual.

[Squink]

Coincidence?

3-foot alligator captured in Chicago River

[leander]

Latest newsfor the 2 other people who seem interested:

The bids were not discussed in detail. “It looks to me as if the offers are pretty straightforward,” federal bankruptcy Judge Caryl E. Delano said.

Other developments: Eason and company were denied an attempt to get “expedited discovery” (access to witness lists and other material) related to Atalaya’s bid, but Judge Delano said there will be plenty of time next Tuesday to offer evidence or testimony if there is a dispute over the bids.

[Measure_for_Measure]

Huh. I say Creative Loafing is a little like Marvel comics during its 1998 bankruptcy. Sure its core business was highly dubious and it had made some ill-considered business decisions. But there was the possibility that its brands just might be worth bazillions in another context, Hollywood in Marvel’s case. That’s exactly how it worked out.

What might the SD/Cecil Adams/Fighting Ignorance brand do with some imaginative scaling up?

[leander]

That’s an interesting article. I certainly agree that there is value in the various brands under CL. But I think it’s pretty clear from these past two years that the present management is in no way capable of turning things around.

Hopefully Atalaya can shake things up similar to what the new Marvel team did after they emerged from bankruptcy.

Coming soon to a theater near you…Cecil Adams!

[Squink]

Creative Loafing chain sold to biggest creditor for $5 million
New owner Atalaya says it will make papers profitable, no layoffs planned

Atalaya bid $5 million for Creative Loafing easily trumping the $2.3 million bid of Ben Eason, the newspaper’s CEO, who has been trying to hold onto the chain since it filed for bankruptcy last September to avoid defaulting on loans.

Eason had hoped, going into the auction, that Federal Bankruptcy Judge Caryl E. Delano, would heavily weigh the experience he and his family had in running Creative Loafing, now based in Tampa, a counterculture weekly his mother Deborah Eason launched in Atlanta in 1972.

Instead, Delano declined the request of Eason and his attorneys — after hearing the size of the bids — to hear arguments that Eason and the Creative Loafing management team were better suited to reorganize and run the newspapers profitably.

[E-Sabbath]

I welcome our new overlords?

[Crowbar_of_Irony_3]

@leander

That’s an interesting article. I certainly agree that there is value in the various brands under CL. But I think it’s pretty clear from these past two years that the present management is in no way capable of turning things around.

Hopefully Atalaya can shake things up similar to what the new Marvel team did after they emerged from bankruptcy.

Coming soon to a theater near you…Cecil Adams!

I can imagine a wise-cracking fact-finder who goes about answering weird questions and debunking urban legends as a ‘Ignorance Fighter’ when he uncovers a plot involving Stonemasons, the Holy Grail, the Vatican and the New World Order, and his life is in danger when a psychic assassin comes after him. And he must fall in love at the same time.

[Clothahump]

Well, that damn sure means no new hamsters for the server.

[Dinsdale]

Big article in the business section of today’s Chicago Trib, with not a mention of the Dope. :rolleyes: