N.Y. Times chips away at its debt

NEW YORK, March 9 (UPI) -- The New York Times Co. said a sale-leaseback option on its company headquarters building had helped it chip away substantially at its $1 billion debt.

The newspaper said Monday it ended 2008 with a billion dollars in debt on its books. In response, the company is seeking a buyer for its minority stake in the Boston Red Sox and other assets. It borrowed $250 million from billionaire Carlos Slim Helu and arranged for the sale-leaseback arrangement of its building with W.P. Carey & Co., an investment firm.

The leaseback affords the company a cut rate $32 per square foot per year for its office space and leaves open the option of buying its $600 million share back for $250 million when the arrangement ends, the Times said.

The leaseback arrangement is considered, essentially, a loan with the building used as collateral, the Times said.

In the era of downsizing and bankruptcy among leading city newspapers, the Times has a $49.5 million payment to lenders due in November and a $250 million payment due in March 2010.

It owns 58 percent of the building on Eighth Avenue in Manhattan, while developer Forest City Ratner Cos. owns 42 percent.