(2008-03-06) Ziff Davis Bankruptcy

ZiffDavis has declared Bankruptcy. Print Advertising revenue went from $215m in 2001 (was higher in 2000) to $40m in 2007! They had $500m in debt from LBO in Apr'2000: Ziff Davis Media plans to swap $225 million of existing senior debt for a new $57.5 million senior secured note and at least 88.8 percent of the common stock in the reorganized company... Current equity in the company would be canceled under the plan, said company spokesman Andy Brimmer of the public relations firm Joele Frank Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher. Willis Stein & Partners LP and affiliated funds, based in Chicago, own 85.6 percent of the current common stock in the parent company Ziff Davis Holdings Inc. DLJ Diversified Partners LP and its affiliates hold the remaining 14.4 percent, Ziff Davis Media said in court papers... Ziff Davis Media filed for bankruptcy with six affiliates and said Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas was its largest unsecured creditor. Deutsche Bank is the trustee for $152.5 million in compounding notes due 2009 and $12.3 million in 12 percent subordinated notes due 2010, Ziff Davis said in court documents.

In 1994, the Ziff family sold a 95 percent stake to private equity firm Forstmann Little & Co. for $1.4 billion. The following year, SoftBank Corp. bought 70 percent of the company from Forstmann for $2.1 billion. Softbank in turn sold the company to another private equity firm, Willis Stein & Partners, in 2000. (Willis Stein paid roughly $780m.)