Chicago Sun-Times on life support?

[marmar]

from Editor & Publisher:



NYSE Halts Trading Of 'Sun-Times' Parent As Stock Slips To $1

By E&P Staff

Published: February 23, 2008 10:00 PM ET

CHICAGO The New York Stock Exchange halted on-the-floor trading of Sun-Times Media Group Inc. (STMG) when its share price opened at $1.00.

Under NYSE regulations, floor trading is stopped whenever a company's stock slips below $1.05 per share. Trading on the Chicago Sun-Times parent company (NYSE: SVN) continued on other platforms, and in after-hours trading late Friday the share price rose to $1.09, up 9 cents or 9%.

In the past 52 weeks STMG -- which in addition to the woes of nearly every big-city publisher has suffered from alleged looting of hundreds of millions by former top executives including Conrad Black, and from circulation fraud at its flagship -- has traded in a range of 85 cents to $6.94 a share.

A spokesperson for STMG could not be reached Saturday. STMG's director of investor relations, Tammy Chase earlier declined to comment on the trading halt when it was first reported by the Chicago Tribune.

Separately Friday, STMG scheduled release of its fourth-quarter 2007 earnings results and a conference call for March 11.

STMG has engaged the investment banker Lazard to assist in a possible sale of the Sun-Times and all or part of the approximately 100 daily and non-dailies it publishes in the Chicago area.

The company had been under pressure by a big minority shareholder, K Capital Partners, to put itself up for sale, and to make big spending cuts. STMG has committed to wringing out $50 million in operating costs by June. It has laid off newsroom, management, and sales employees at the flagship Sun-Times and other papers, and folded some publications.


http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003714731

[LiberalFighter]

1. Sun-Times Robert Novak |||| Will that finally mean bye bye Novak?