NYT Co to borrow $225 million

NEW YORK: Media house New York Times Company is planning to borrow about USD 225 million against the firm's headquarters building in mid-Manhattan, as a measure to tackle the cash flow squeeze.
   
"The New York Times Company plans to borrow up to 225 million dollars against its mid-Manhattan headquarters building, to ease a potential cash flow squeeze as the company grapples with tighter credit and shrinking profits," the New York Times said in a report published online. 

Quoting the company's Chief Financial Officer James M Follo, the report said real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield has been retained to act as its agent to secure financing, "either in the form of a mortgage or a sale-leaseback
arrangement".

"The Times Company owns 58 per cent of the 52-story, 1.5 million-square-foot tower on Eighth Avenue, which was designed by the architect Renzo Piano, and completed last year. The developer Forest City Ratner owns the rest of the building," it added.

The report said that the company's portion of the building is not currently mortgaged.
    
According to the report, the firm has two revolving lines of credit, each with a ceiling of USD 400 million, roughly the amount outstanding on the two combined.
    
One of those lines is set to expire in May, and finding a replacement would be difficult given the economic climate and the company's worsening finances, it pointed out.