Irvine-based Freedom Communications Inc., owner of the Orange County Register, has exited bankruptcy, according to the newspaper’s Web site.
Freedom filed for bankruptcy in September after trying to strike a deal to appease creditors holding about $1 billion in debt.
Most of the debt was incurred in a 2004 buyout by private equity firms Blackstone Group LP and Providence Equity Partners LLC that kept members of Freedom’s founding Hoiles family in control.
As part of the company’s reorganization, secured debt holders and investors have taken over ownership in exchange for forgiving about $445 million in debt.
Three New York-based investors are among Freedom’s new owners: Angelo, Gordon & Co.—which has acquired stakes in other struggling newspaper companies—Alden Global Capital and Luxor Capital Group.
Lenders led by JPMorgan Chase & Co. also now own part of the company.
For more on this story, read the full Register article.
For more on Freedom’s bankruptcy, read a prior Business Journal article.
