Motor Trend Files Chapter 11

[Rev]

And you wonder how people always gets free subs in the US or $3-5 a year - the glossing printing & mailing alone would be a huge loss leader for any company!! Hope Sports Compact Car is spun off and not affected - despite their pages downsizing I still remember when they first came out and all their wacky tests (ie. stripping Sentra into a 13 second car lol)

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/20...to-chapter-11/

The publishing industry is hurting, and carmakers are hurting — so it’s not a great time to be publishing magazines about cars. That helps explain why Source Interlink, the media company that publishes Motor Trend and Hot Rod magazines, is taking a pit stop in bankruptcy protection.

Under a reorganization plan that lenders have already agreed to, the company said it expects to eliminate $1 billion in debt and be out of bankruptcy protection in 35 days. That wouldn’t be a land speed record, but it is still remarkably fast for a billion-dollar-plus Chapter 11 case.

Source Interlink has filed what is known as a “prepackaged” bankruptcy, meaning that creditors entitled to vote have already agreed to support the restructuring plan.

The company’s lenders would get all of its new stock, according to the plan it filed in bankruptcy court in Delaware.

Its existing equity owners, including affiliates of Ronald W. Burkle’s investment firm, Yucaipa Companies, will get nothing for their shares.

Current management will stay in place, and vendors will be paid in full for debt incurred before the filing, the company said.

Yucaipa took on $1.3 billion in debt to buy Motor Trend and a collection of other magazines and Web sites from Primedia in 2007. The recent decline in advertising spending, especially among automotive companies, as well as rising costs for raw materials has left it unable to service that debt, the company said in court filings.

Source Interlink reported assets of $2.4 billion and debt of $2 billion its Chapter 11 petition. Its equity owners include affiliates of Yucaipa, with a 48 percent stake, and Goldman Sachs, with a 7 percent stake, filings show.

The company is getting legal advice in the bankruptcy from Kirkland & Ellis and financial advice from Moelis & Company.

[penner2k]

I bet they would actually be better off not having print at all. Stick with online.
Have free and paid content.
Arent a lot of print media companies not doing so great anymore?

[Klobbersaurus]

Originally Posted by Rev

And you wonder how people always gets free subs in the US or $3-5 a year - the glossing printing & mailing alone would be a huge loss leader for any company!! Hope Sports Compact Car is spun off and not affected - despite their pages downsizing I still remember when they first came out and all their wacky tests (ie. stripping Sentra into a 13 second car lol)

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/20...to-chapter-11/

SCC has been gone for a while

[originalhypa]

SCC and Turbo were both turfed, and the best of both mags came online with Modified.
In fact, Modified is pretty good lately. Sad about Source Interlink though. They over extended themselves by buying out Peterson, and when the financial turmoil hit, all they could do was watch as their profits fell.

Sad situation, especially when they killed my SCC.

[The_AK]

a lot of newspapers are heading in the same direction since so many people get their information online,
sucks for the people that still read them though

[q0192837465]

Hope Car and Driver won't go under, I still have half year subscription left from them.