Deadline extended for sale of Philadelphia newspapers
A judge in Philadelphia is giving the prospective new owners of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News more time to settle union contracts. The decision came today on the day the turnover of the bankrupt media company was supposed to be sealed.
A judge in Philadelphia is giving the prospective new owners of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News more time to settle union contracts. The decision came today on the day the turnover of the bankrupt media company was supposed to be sealed.
The new owners are among the papers’ former creditors in bankruptcy court. They have to settle with more than a dozen unions representing employees to complete their takeover, and four have not yet ratified contracts. The bankruptcy judge has now given them until September 14th to hammer out deals.
Joe Bondi is currently CEO of the papers and Philly.com. He says he’s encouraged by continuing discussions…and believes the parties will work diligently to reach an agreement.
“I think it’s important that there be a closing sooner rather than later. It’s important for our employees to know for whom they’ll be working with and as we look into the future the company does not have an endless amount of cash so it’s important that it get out of bankruptcy and be sold.”
The creditors outbid the current owners and are buying the media company for $105 million.
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