Results tagged “creativeloafing”

New York hedge fund Atalaya Capital Management were the winners in a bankruptcy auction in Tampa today to see who would control the Creative Loafing newspaper chain, owners of the Washington City Paper and other alternative weeklies, reports the St. Petersburg Times. Atalaya was Creative Loafing's largest creditor by far, and they took control of the company by significantly outbidding a partnership made up of now former Loafing CEO Ben Eason and another hedge fund creditor, BIA Digital Partners. Atalaya offered $5 million, while the Eason group opened with $2.32 million.

The Washington City Paper will continue to be owned by Creative Loafing Inc., thanks to a ruling handed down today by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Caryl E. Delano in Tampa. CEO Ben Eason will retain control of the alternative newspaper chain despite an attempt by creditor Atalaya to take over the company, reports Wayne Garcia from Loaf HQ in Tampa, who was careful to get the name of the D.C. publication correct this time. Eason is quoted as being "psyched" by the ruling, but his enthusiasm appears to need at least some tempering.

Delano also struck a cautious tone, saying that she believed the company has “an uphill battle” ahead to have any reorganization plan confirmed by the creditors since Atalaya is far and wide the biggest creditor and could choose to vote against any plan. Delano suggested mediation for the two sides, but after a 30-minute recess in which the two sides’ lawyers talked by telephone, the idea of having a mediator appointed was tabled for now, at least until April 20 when Creative Loafing reveals more details of its reorganization plan, including possible new investors.

The Washington Business Journal and natch, City Desk, both have stories up, too.

The Washington Business Journal has a rather curious update on the bankruptcy proceedings for Creative Loafing, the owner of the Washington City Paper, among other publications.

Judge Caryl E. Delano will decide whether the Tampa chain will remain under control of publisher Ben Eason or Atalaya Capital Management, which says it’s owed $31 million in loans used by the paper to purchase Washington City Times and Chicago Reader in 2007, according to Creative Loafing reporter Wayne Garcia. The decision is expected at 2 p.m.

OK, so we'll look for that 2 p.m. decision tomorrow... but what on Earth is the Washington City Times? A likely answer can be found from the City Paper's own Dave McKenna: that report by Garcia from Creative Loafing-Tampa Bay HQ originated the error, and the WBJ appears to have repeated it in the text of their story (though not in the headline). Ouch.

Yesterday Creative Loafing, the owner of the Washington City Paper, announced it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In a post on City Desk, City Paper editor Erik Wemple quoted Loaf CEO Ben Eason playing the filing off as not as bad as it sounds, since bankruptcy will give the company the breathing room it needs to finish a structural reorganization directed toward the internet. TambaBay.com's The Feed blog dug into the Loaf's financials, arguing that despite assurances to the contrary, it does appear as though debt accrued in the course of purchasing the City Paper and the Chicago Reader last year played a role in the bankruptcy.

Via Editor & Publisher, the Washington City Paper, along with the Chicago Reader, which the City Paper owns, has been sold to Atlanta-based company Creative Loafing, publisher of four other alternative weeklies in Atlanta, Tampa, Sarasota, Fla., and Charlotte, N.C. The City Paper name will remain in place, despite the other four papers all carrying the "Creative Loafing" name. In a post to the City Paper's staff blog, City Desk, Senior Editor Mike DeBonis said...