Ziff Davis Media Declares Bankruptcy

Ziff Davis Media yesterday announced it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in order to pay down its debt and restructure.

The trade publisher, whose titles include PC Magazine and gaming publication EGM, said in a statement yesterday it had reached an agreement with an ad hoc group of note holders on restructuring terms.

As part of the deal, the group has agreed to set aside $24.5 million to fund Ziff Davis’s operations during the restructuring, as well as after the company emerges from Chapter 11, it said.

If the court approves the restructuring, the company said, $225 million in debt will be exchanged for $57.5 million in debt and 88.8% of the stock in the reorganized company.

The company filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Ziff Davis said it expects operations to continue as usual during the restructuring and that it should emerge from Chapter 11 this summer.