• by Ray Schultz , September 27, 2021

Gannett announced it wants to “opportunistically” refinance its existing term loan under its senior secured credit facilities.  

The new senior secured term loan would total up to $550 million, The borrower, Gannett Holdings LLC, would use the net proceeds of the loans to refinance part of its existing term loan.  

Gannett has repaid approximately $65 million in principal under its existing five-year term loan, thanks to the sale of real estate worth $38.6 million and other assets, bringing the loan principal down to $825.7 million.  

The firm will make its first amortization payment of $26.1 million on Thursday of this week, bringing the loan principal under $900 million. And it expects to have roughly first amortization payment of $26.1 million on September 30, 2021 on hand.  

The loan includes funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Capital Management L.P. 

The publisher reports that Q3 revenue will be down slightly YoY. In addition, its adjusted EBITDA margin¹will be down to 12%-13% from toughly 13.7% in the first half of 2021.  

The margin is being hurt by inflationary pressures on newsprint and delivery, the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated negative impact on single-copy circulation revenue. Also, the company has seen its events business affected, including the ability to host in-person endurance races and local community events. 

Gannett has been selling some of its local news products. Last week, it announced a deal to sell 20 Midwestern newspapers to CherryRoad Media Inc.