SACRAMENTO, Calif., Dec. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The McClatchy Company announced today that the agreement to sell 10 acres of land adjacent to The Miami Herald has been extended to Jan. 19, 2010, in exchange for an increase in the termination fee from $6 million to $7 million should the buyer fail to close the transaction. The buyer, Citisquare Group, LLC, has the right to further extend the agreement to Jan. 31, 2011, upon payment to McClatchy of an additional $6 million nonrefundable deposit on or before Jan. 19, 2010. McClatchy previously received a $10 million nonrefundable deposit, which it used to repay debt. The buyer had until Dec. 31, 2009, to close the transaction pursuant to the terms of the existing purchase agreement.
Pat Talamantes, McClatchy's vice president and CFO, said, "While we would have preferred to close the transaction at the end of 2009 so that we could repay debt with the proceeds, McClatchy is now entitled to collect $7 million if the transaction fails to close. If the agreement is further extended to January 2011, McClatchy will receive an additional $6 million nonrefundable deposit in addition to the nonrefundable deposit previously collected."
About McClatchy
The McClatchy Company is the third largest newspaper company in the United States, with 30 daily newspapers, approximately 50 non-dailies, and direct marketing and direct mail operations. McClatchy also operates leading local websites in each of its markets which extend its audience reach. The websites offer users comprehensive news and information, advertising, e-commerce and other services. Together with its newspapers and direct marketing products, these interactive operations make McClatchy the leading local media company in each of its premium high growth markets. McClatchy-owned newspapers include The Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Kansas City Star, The Charlotte Observer, and The News & Observer (Raleigh).
McClatchy also owns a portfolio of premium digital assets, including 14.4% of CareerBuilder, the nation's largest online job site, 25.6% of Classified Ventures, a newspaper industry partnership that offers two of the nation's premier classified websites: the auto website, cars.com, and the rental site, Apartments.com and 33.3% of HomeFinder, LLC which operates the real estate website HomeFinder.com. McClatchy is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MNI.
Additional Information
Statements in this press release regarding future financial and operating results, including revenues, anticipated savings from cost reduction efforts, future dividend payments, cash flows, debt levels, as well as future opportunities for the company and any other statements about management's future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact (including statements containing the words "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates" and similar expressions) should also be considered to be forward-looking statements. There are a number of important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including: the duration and depth of the economic recession may reduce its income and cash flow greater than expected; McClatchy may not generate cash from operations, or otherwise, necessary to reduce debt as expected; McClatchy may not achieve its expense reduction targets or may do harm to its operations in attempting to achieve such targets; McClatchy's operations have been, and will likely continue to be, adversely affected by competition, including competition from internet publishing and advertising platforms; McClatchy's expense and income levels could be adversely affected by changes in the cost of newsprint and McClatchy's operations could be negatively affected by any deterioration in its labor relations, bankruptcies or financial strain of its major advertising customers; McClatchy's ability to maintain compliance with NYSE listing standards, including the NYSE share price standard and compliance with its market capitalization and stockholders' equity standards; as well as the other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's publicly filed documents, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 28, 2008, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. McClatchy disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this release.
The McClatchy Company
CONTACT: Elaine Lintecum of The McClatchy Company, +1-916-321-1846,
elintecum@mcclatchy.com
Web Site: http://www.mcclatchy.com/
