GateHouse Media
$50 million FILO Term Loan
Overview
GateHouse Media, Inc., headquartered in Fairport, N.Y., is one of the largest U.S. publishers of locally based print and online media with 78 daily publications and 235 weeklies serving audiences of approximately 10 million per week. These publications are located in 20 states with the most significant coverage in Massachusetts, New York and Illinois.
Challenge
Prior to the recession, the Company took on significant levels of debt to finance its growth via various acquisitions. Gatehouse filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections in September 2013 in order to restructure $1.2 billion of debt that was due to mature in August 2014.
Solution
Crystal provided a $50.0 million FILO term loan as part of a new $115.0 million unitranche transaction to facilitate GateHouses’s emergence in November 2013. The exit plan allowed for GateHouse to restructure their balance sheet with significantly less debt which included the Company’s pre-petition lenders exchanging their debt for equity. GateHouse is now 100% owned by New Media Investment Group Inc., which has filed documents to trade on the NYSE under NEWM.