Pecker extends search for AMI refinancing

NATIONAL Enquirer and Us Weekly publisher American Media Inc. is attempting for a second time in four months to refinance its mountain of debt.

Thecompany, headed by embattled CEO David Pecker, is clearly hoping that the political headwinds that derailed its first bid — when Credit Suisse was expected to lead the charge in July — have subsided.

But refinancing in today’s volatile markets, even without the added political baggage, will be hard.

“The debt market has closed somewhat for some of these stressed issuers,” said Paunie Samreth, an editor at Debtwire, which first reported that the new refinancing effort will be led by little-known Seaport Capital. AMI is trying to raise $450 million to refi- nance a $174 million term loan due in 2020, a $150 million second-lien note due in 2021, a $100 million bridge loan used to buy Bauer Publishing’s celebrity titles, and a $30 million line of credit.

There was a new trouble on the political front Thursday as Michael Cohen, former personal attorney to President Trump, pleaded guilty to lying to Congress regarding testimony about Trump’s real estate talks in Moscow in 2016 and the timing of when those talks actually ended.

Pecker drew heat when it emerged that AMI paid $150,000 to former Playboy model Karen McDougal to keep her from spilling her story about her alleged year-long fling with Trump years earlier. Cohen, with AMI’s help, also said he paid $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels, which Cohen said he was later reimbursed for by President Trump. Cohen has already pleaded guilty to campaign finance law violations as a result of those dealings. Pecker and other AMI executives were granted immunity to testify in the proceedings.

A new page

James Pattison, one of the wealthiest people in Canada, has apparently bailed on his struggling US publications’ wholesale distribution operation The News Group (also known as TNG Group) and is selling to an American hedge fund.

Chatham Asset Management is the new owner of the operation that is going to be called American News Company when the deal closes on Dec. 31. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

TNG is estimated to control about 70 percent of the US market while rival Hudson News controls another 20 percent.

Pattison, 90, owns supermarkets, auto dealers and outdoor advertising firms in Canada. He’ll keep the Canadian wholesale operation.

Wholesalers are responsible for getting magazines from printers to retail outlets. David Parry, who was running the US operation for Pattison at TNG, will stay on board as will the 1,500 employees and all the warehouse and delivery trucks.

Euro helper

Condé Nast said profits in overseas operations in India, Asia, Africa, Latin America and South America offset losses in the struggling European operation.

According to filings in Companies House, a British government financial clearinghouse, Condé Nast International Ltd. — the European arm — racked up about $48.2 million in “comprehensive losses” in 2016.

According to a spokeswoman, the numbers don’ t tell the whole story because Condé Na st International Ltd. only includes the European arm with magazines in Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Spain.

“It does not include any financial information pertaining to there st of the group’s operations, which includes India, China, Russia, Taiwan, Japan, Mexico and Latin America, Brazil, nor the majority of our growing media and hospitality licensing businesses,” the spokeswoman said .“Many of these operations are high growth areas and highly profitable .”

In Europe, she said, the primary causes of the 2016 losses were are calibration of the defined benefit pension liabilities andone-off severance costs, she said.

“Condé Na st International has been profitable in 2016 and 2017, and the same applies for 2018,” she said of the entire global empire. The numbers for the European operation for fiscal 2017 are slated to be publicly unveiled next month. The numbers for the other operations aren’t publicly disclosed, but Condé Nast International is believed to contribute about 40 percent to 50 percent of the corporation’ s revenue of just over $1 billion. While overseas was growing, domestic Condé lost $120 million in 2017 and was striving to cut it in half in 2018.

In a jolting restructuring unveiled Tuesday, CEO Bob S au er berg of domestic Condé Na st Publications was bounced and International CEO Jonathan Newhouse was named chairman of a “new Condé Nast” that will combine domestic and overseas under one umbrella.

11-pound read

There’ s a new chapter unfolding for ex-NY Times metro editor Wendell Jamieson. His picture book “New York by New York” was just featured in an NY Times roundup of nine coffee table books available for holiday gift giving, which suggests they’ ve forgiven him following his banishment from the Gray Lady earlier this year.

Thebook, from Assouline, weighs11 pounds and is priced at $250. It features such distinguished photographers as Edward Steichen and Weegee and such writers as Edith Wharton, E.B. White and Tom Wolfe.