McClatchy delays close of Miami land sale

NEW YORK The McClatchy Co. said on Tuesday that it is extending the closing date of the sale of its Miami property, Editor & Publisher reported today in a story by Jennifer Saba

The deal, which is expected to bring in $190 million, was originally expected to close at the end of this year. Because the buyers of the 10 acres of land adjacent to The Miami Herald are having trouble securing financing, McClatchy has postponed the date until June 30, 2009.

Citisquare Group paid McClatchy $10 million in a nonrefundable deposit. The company has the option of extending the closing date even further until Dec. 31, 2009 by increasing the termination fee to McClatchy should transaction not go through.

Under the new terms, Citisquare has relinquished its right of first refusal to purchase the Miami Herald building.

Gary Pruitt, CEO and chairman of McClatchy, said in a statement: "We are pleased to reach an accommodation with Citisquare to preserve this valuable transaction. Maefield Development, a Citisquare partner and developer of the land, has expressed confidence to us that the deal will close."

McClatchy's CFO Pat Talamantes said the delay of the transaction-the money from the sale will be used to pay down debt -- will not affect its credit agreement. "We expect to continue to have ample availability under our revolving line of credit to meet our funding requirements, including public bonds maturing in April 2009. Thereafter, the company has no other bank or bond debt maturities until June 2011," he said.

Jennifer Saba (jsaba@editorandpublisher.com) is E&P's associate editor