Lenders Again Win Philly Papers With $105M Bid

Secured lenders beat out philanthropist's bid of $85 million

Secured lenders have again won the bankruptcy auction for Philadelphia's two largest newspapers with a $105 million cash bid.

Their offers tops the $85 million bid from philanthropist Raymond Perelman for The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News.

Creditors plan to cut costs by 13 percent across the board, including a 6 percent drop in newsroom salaries.

But they have pledged to keep publishing both newspapers and avoid newsroom layoffs for one year.

The 93-year-old Perelman, a city native, says he had hoped to preserve the newspapers’ integrity.

A group of local investors paid $515 million for the company in 2006 but are selling it to emerge from bankruptcy.

Creditors also won a previous auction but failed to close on the deal.
 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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