As Toys R Us announced bankruptcy liquidation and plans close all its US stores, including a half-dozen in New Hampshire, the biggest U.S. radio-station owner, with eight stations in the state has also filed for bankruptcy.
According to Bloomberg.com, IHeartMedia, Inc., filed for bankruptcy with a plan to halve its debt load of more than $20 billion, the legacy of a leveraged buyout that hobbled the company as the digital era spawned new rivals. With about 850 radio stations and 17,000 employees worldwide, IHeart filed for Chapter 11 protection on Wednesday in Houston, a move that allows iHeart to keep operating while it tries to cement its turnaround plan.
After trying to ink a deal with creditors since last March, the company said that it reached an accord with investors holding more than $10 billion of its debt, along with its private equity owners, Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners. Their leveraged buyout in 2008 was the reason for much of iHeart’s borrowing, and the company hasn’t posted an annual net profit for a decade.
The company owns eight radio stations in the state, including WGIR and WHEB.
Read the full story at Bloomberg.com
The once great toy retailer, Toys R Us, said Thursday it intends to liquidate its U.S. business and shutter all of its 735 domestic toy stores and Babies "R" Us stores. There are Toys R Us stores in Concord, Newington, Manchester and Salem, and a Babies R Us in Salem. The company filed bankruptcy with the intent to reorganize. By January they announced they would be closing the unprofitable stores, including Nashua.
The retailer was saddled with hefty debt in a 2005 leveraged buyout in which Bain Capital, KKR & Co. and Vornado Realty Trust took the retailer private. In recent months, the company's financial burden went from seriously challenging to unsustainable.
Read the full story at Bloomberg.com
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