MediaNews Group's Colorado Rocky Finances

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The insolvency beat goes on for ad revenue-strapped, circulation-starved newspaper conglomerates with the announcement that  Denver-based MediaNews Group, Inc. ("MNG") will shortly file a pre-approved Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The financial restructring plan, which affects Affiliated Media, Inc., an MNG holding group, will give lenders an 80 percent ownership stake in the entity and leave current management intact, though shareholders will lose the value of their holdings. In return for the 80 percent equity, principal lenders, headed by Bank of America, will reduce MNG's existing debt to $165 million from its current approximate $930 million. Reportedly, 95 percent of the media giant's lenders and 91 percent of its bondholders have signed off on the restructuring plan.

The proposed bankruptcy package does not involve individual MNG newspapers, just the Afilliated Media holdings. Among MNG properties are The Oakland Tribune, The Berkshire Eagle, The Salt Lake Tribune, The St. Paul Pioneer Press, The Detroit News, and The Denver Post.