KOLD News 13Judge approves Freedom reorganization plan
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Associated Press - March 9, 2010 1:44 PM ET
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - A federal bankruptcy judge in Delaware has approved the Chapter 11 reorganization plan of Freedom Communications, owner of The Orange County Register in California, the East Valley Tribune and other media properties.
Under the plan approved Tuesday, Freedom's secured lenders including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of New York Mellon would assume ownership of the company in return for cutting the debt owed to them by nearly 60 percent, to $325 million.
Unsecured creditors who challenged an initial proposal giving them only about $5 million stand to recover far more than that under the revised plan.
Pension holders would get about 70 percent of their original pensions.
Other unsecured creditors, including plaintiffs in a lawsuit brought by newspaper carriers against the Register, would be the beneficiaries of a $14.5 million trust fund.
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