Lenders win bidding for Philadelphia newspapers

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The bankruptcy court-ordered auction of Philadelphia Newspapers LLC is complete. The senior lenders won the bidding to acquire the company which owns the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News.


Despite a ruling that the lenders could not use their debt for a credit bid, the lenders went into the bidding determined to make a strong cash bid to protect the value of the loans they had made. According to Philly.com, the joint website of the two newspapers, the winning bid was $135 million, with $105 million in cash, plus real estate.

A local investment group led by Brian Tierney bought the Philadelphia newspapers for $515 million in 2006. The company filed for Chapter 11 reorganization last year.

Tierney had been working with an expanded local investor group to try to buy the papers in the bankruptcy court auction. “We didn’t make it. I think I’ll go home tonight and sleep like a baby, which means I’ll wake up every hour crying,” he told Philly.com.