Lee filing bankruptcy

Because they might know a lot more about the process than divorce lawyers or personal-injury lawyers?

 

Lee is trying to force the holdouts to agree to a delayed repayment schedule. The risk for the creditors is it's just delaying the inevitable haircut. Stock holders get slightly screwed over as their shares are diluted to 87 percent of the total shares as Lee will issue more shares.

 

Talked to a friend last night who writes for a Lee paper. No changes in the day-to-day operations. No one's getting raises, but that hasn't happened in at least 2 years at their shop, so no one was expecting anything. Christmas bonuses are a thing of the ancient past. They've cut so much staff there really isn't anything left to cut anymore.

Seems like a business/legal move and not much more.

 

Poor financial dealings have cost Jarrett Lee his starting job.

 

Appears to be welcome news on Wall Street. Their stock value soared 33 percent today, although I'm not sure a 71 cent stock inspires too much confidence...


http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=lee&ql=1

 

So Lee creditors agree to wait on the 995M. Thier incentive is to receive 13% of the company, currently worth about 5M. And because the creditors agree to receive this common stock, which is worth less than one percent of debt outstanding everyone agrees to live happily ever after. I admit to having no experience in these things but I wonder if the full story is out there yet.

 

(bump) all goes according to plan ... thank Tebow:

http://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/court-approves-lee-enterprises-restructuring-plan/article_bfb28f3a-cc9c-5916-9922-a98dabb25760.html

 

I've heard that so many times. It's never true. They always find someone or something they can do without.

 

Found this on the web today. Thought some Lee folks might be interested.
http://struckman.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/for-those-who-suffer-for-the-trust/

One of the things I liked about discovering the Gannett Blog was realizing that the randomness of decisions wasn't necessarily due to having bad local management. That weird, strange things were happening everywhere. I figure the same kind of operating strategy was at work at Lee.

 

Could be about anyplace, really, not just Lee.

 

That's what is depressing about it.