McClatchy to buy back some bonds and issue new ones

Dale Kasler | The Sacramento Bee

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento-based McClatchy Co., which owns The Bee, offered to buy back up to $700 million worth of bonds that mature in 2017.

To pay for the buyback, McClatchy said it plans to offer $750 million worth of new bonds. Those notes will mature in 2022.

McClatchy continues to battle a six-year revenue slump that has gripped most newspaper chains and other traditional media. Taken together, the two transactions announced Wednesday would provide additional financial cushion by pushing back the maturity of nearly half of McClatchy's debt by five years.

The company's debt was $1.56 billion at the end of September.

The buyback offer on the 2017 bonds expires Dec. 26. Those bonds pay 11.5 percent interest. The interest on the new bonds has yet to be determined.

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