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Debt | 6 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2019
Debt [Abstract] |
Debt Disclosure [Text Block] |
| DEBT
On March 31, 2014, we completed a comprehensive refinancing of our debt (the "2014 Refinancing"), which included the following:
• | $400,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 9.5% Senior Secured Notes (the “Notes”), pursuant to an Indenture dated as of March 31, 2014 (the “Indenture”).
• | $250,000,000 first lien term loan (the "1st Lien Term Loan") and $40,000,000 revolving facility (the "Revolving Facility") under a First Lien Credit Agreement dated as of March 31, 2014 (together the “1st Lien Credit Facility”).
• | $150,000,000 second lien term loan under a Second Lien Loan Agreement dated as of March 31, 2014 (the “2nd Lien Term Loan”).
In November 2018, we repaid, in full, the remaining balance of the 1st Lien Term Loan. In December 2018, we amended our 1st Lien Credit Facility to amend and extend our Revolving Facility (the "Amendment"). The Amendment, among other changes, extends the maturity of the revolving loan commitments of the 1st Lien Lenders for twelve months and reduces the revolver loan commitments from $40,000,000 to $27,200,000 with a further 15% reduction to the revolving loan commitments of the 1st Lien Term Lenders effective as of July 31, 2019. Debt is summarized as follows:
|  |  | Interest Rates (%)
(Thousands of Dollars) | March 31 2019 |  | September 30 2018 |  | March 31 2019
Revolving Facility | — |  | — |  | 6.1
1st Lien Term Loan | — |  | 6,303 |  | 8.5
Notes | 385,000 |  | 385,000 |  | 9.5
2nd Lien Term Loan | 91,455 |  | 93,556 |  | 12.0
| 476,455 |  | 484,859 |  |
Unamortized debt issue costs | (15,529 | ) | (17,055 | ) |
Current maturities of long-term debt | 7,318 |  | 7,027 |  |
Total long-term debt | 453,608 |  | 460,777 |  |
Our weighted average cost of debt, excluding amortization of debt financing costs at March 31, 2019, is 10.0%. At March 31, 2019, aggregate minimum required maturities of debt excluding amounts required to be paid from future excess cash flow computations total $7,318,000 for the remainder of 2019, $0 in 2020, $0 in 2021, $385,000,000 in 2022 and $84,137,000 in 2023. Notes The Notes are senior secured obligations of the Company and mature on March 15, 2022. At March 31, 2019, the principal balance of the Notes totaled $385,000,000. Interest The Notes require payment of interest semiannually on March 15 and September 15 of each year, at a fixed annual rate of 9.5%. Redemption We may redeem some, or all, of the principal amount of the Notes at any time as follows:
Period Beginning | Percentage of Principal Amount
March 15, 2019 | 102.38
March 15, 2020 | 100.00
If we sell certain of our assets or experience specific kinds of changes of control, we must, subject to certain exceptions, offer to purchase the Notes at 101% of the principal amount. Any redemption of the Notes must also satisfy any accrued and unpaid interest thereon. Covenants and Other Matters The Indenture and the 1st Lien Credit Facility contain restrictive covenants as discussed more fully below. However, certain of these covenants will cease to apply if the Notes are rated investment grade by either Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. or Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group and there is no default or event of default under the Indenture. 1st Lien Credit Facility The 1st Lien Term Loan was paid in full in November 2018 and has no outstanding balance as of March 31, 2019. The 1st Lien Credit Facility consists of the $27,000,000 Revolving Facility that matures on December 28, 2019. The 1st Lien Credit Facility documents the primary terms of the 1st Lien Term Loan and the Revolving Facility. The Revolving Facility may be used for working capital and general corporate purposes (including letters of credit). At March 31, 2019, after consideration of letters of credit, we have approximately $21,435,000 available for future use under the Revolving Facility. Interest Interest on the Revolving Facility, which is undrawn at March 31, 2019, accrues, at our option, at either (A) LIBOR plus 5.5%, or (B) 4.5% plus the higher of (i) the prime rate at the time, (ii) the federal funds rate plus 0.5%, or (iii) one month LIBOR plus 1.0%. Covenants and Other Matters The 1st Lien Credit Facility requires that we comply with certain affirmative and negative covenants customary for financing of this nature, including a maximum total leverage ratio. The 1st Lien Credit Facility restricts us from paying dividends on our Common Stock. This restriction no longer applies if Lee Legacy Leverage is below 3.25x before and after such payments. Lee Legacy Leverage as defined is 4.28x at March 31, 2019. Further, the 1st Lien Credit Facility restricts or limits, among other things, subject to certain exceptions, the ability of the Company and its subsidiaries to: (i) incur indebtedness, (ii) enter into mergers, acquisitions and asset sales, (iii) incur or create liens and (iv) enter into transactions with certain affiliates. The 1st Lien Credit Facility contains various representations and warranties and may be terminated upon occurrence of certain events of default. The 1st Lien Credit Facility also contains cross-default provisions tied to the terms of each of the Indenture and 2nd Lien Term Loan. 2nd Lien Term Loan The 2nd Lien Term Loan, which has a balance of $91,455,000 at March 31, 2019, bears interest at a fixed annual rate of 12.0%, payable quarterly, and matures in December 2022. Principal Payments Excluding excess cash flow payments, there are no scheduled mandatory amortization payments required under the 2nd Lien Term Loan. Quarterly, we are required to prepare a calculation of excess cash flow of the Pulitzer Subsidiaries ("Pulitzer Excess Cash Flow"). Pulitzer Excess Cash Flow is generally determined as the cash earnings of the Pulitzer Subsidiaries including adjustments for changes in working capital, capital spending, pension contributions, debt principal payments and income tax payments. Pulitzer Excess Cash Flow also includes a deduction for interest costs incurred under the 2nd Lien Term Loan. Pulitzer Excess Cash Flow is used to prepay the 2nd Lien Term Loan, at par, and is required to be paid 45 days after the end of the quarter. Payments will also be made on the 2nd Lien Term Loan, at par, with proceeds from asset sales by the Pulitzer Subsidiaries that are not reinvested subject to certain other conditions. During the 13 and 26 weeks ended March 31, 2019, payments on the 2nd Lien Term Loan totaled $1,377,000 and $2,101,000, respectively. For the 13 weeks ended March 31, 2019, Pulitzer Excess Cash Flow totaled $7,318,000, which will be used to make a payment on the 2nd Lien Term Loan in May 2019, at par. Beginning March 31, 2019, voluntary payments under the 2nd Lien Term Loan are no longer subject to call premiums and are payable at par. The Indenture includes certain restrictions on voluntary payments on the 2nd Lien Term Loan. Covenants and Other Matters The 2nd Lien Term Loan requires that we comply with certain affirmative and negative covenants customary for financing of this nature, including the negative covenants under the 1st Lien Credit Facility discussed above. The 2nd Lien Term Loan contains various representations and warranties and may be terminated upon occurrence of certain events of default. The 2nd Lien Term Loan also contains cross-default provisions tied to the terms of the Indenture and 1st Lien Credit Facility. In connection with the 2nd Lien Term Loan, we entered into a Warrant Agreement dated as of March 31, 2014 (the “Warrant Agreement”). Under the Warrant Agreement, certain affiliates or designees of the 2nd Lien Lenders received on March 31, 2014 their pro rata share of warrants to purchase, in cash, an initial aggregate of 6,000,000 shares of Common Stock, subject to adjustment pursuant to anti-dilution provisions (the “Warrants”). The Warrants represent, when fully exercised, approximately 10.4% of shares of Common Stock outstanding at March 30, 2014 on a fully diluted basis. The exercise price of the Warrants is $4.19 per share. The Warrant Agreement contains provisions requiring the Warrants to be measured at fair value and included in other liabilities in our Consolidated Balance Sheets. We re-measure the fair value of the liability each reporting period, with changes reported in other, net non-operating income (expense). The initial fair value of the Warrants was $16,930,000. See Note 10. In connection with the issuance of the Warrants, we entered into a Registration Rights Agreement dated as of March 31, 2014 (the “Registration Rights Agreement”). The Registration Rights Agreement requires, among other matters, that we use our commercially reasonable efforts to maintain the effectiveness for certain specified periods of a shelf registration statement related to the shares of Common Stock to be issued upon exercise of the Warrants. Security The Notes and the 1st Lien Credit Facility are fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a joint and several first-priority basis by each of the Company's material domestic subsidiaries, excluding MNI, the Pulitzer Subsidiaries and TNI (the "Lee Legacy Assignors"), pursuant to a first lien guarantee and collateral agreement dated as of March 31, 2014 (the "1st Lien Guarantee and Collateral Agreement"). The Notes, the 1st Lien Credit Facility and the subsidiary guarantees are secured, subject to certain exceptions, priorities and limitations, by perfected security interests in all property and assets, including certain real estate, of the Lee Legacy Assignors, other than the capital stock of MNI and any property and assets of MNI (the “Lee Legacy Collateral”), on a first-priority basis, equally and ratably with all of the Lee Legacy Assignors' existing and future obligations. The Lee Legacy Collateral includes, among other things, equipment, inventory, accounts receivables, depository accounts, intellectual property and certain of their other tangible and intangible assets. Also, the Notes and the 1st Lien Credit Facility are secured, subject to certain exceptions, priorities and limitations in the various agreements, by first-priority security interests in the capital stock of, and other equity interests owned by, the Lee Legacy Assignors (excluding the capital stock of MNI). The Notes and 1st Lien Credit Facility are subject to a Pari Passu Intercreditor Agreement dated March 31, 2014. The Notes, the 1st Lien Credit Facility and the subsidiary guarantees are also secured, subject to permitted liens, by a second-priority security interest in the property and assets of the Pulitzer Subsidiaries that become subsidiary guarantors (the "Pulitzer Assignors") other than assets of or used in the operations or business of TNI (collectively, the “Pulitzer Collateral”). In June 2015 the Pulitzer Assignors became a party to the 1st Lien Guarantee and Collateral Agreement on a second lien basis. Also, the Notes and the 1st Lien Credit Facility are secured, subject to certain exceptions, priorities, and limitations in the various agreements, by second-priority security interests in the capital stock of, and other equity interests in, the Pulitzer Assignors and Star Publishing’s interest in TNI. The 2nd Lien Term Loan is fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a joint and several first-priority basis by the Pulitzer Assignors, pursuant to a Second Lien Guarantee and Collateral Agreement dated as of March 31, 2014 (the “2nd Lien Guarantee and Collateral Agreement”) among the Pulitzer Assignors and the 2nd Lien collateral agent. Under the 2nd Lien Guarantee and Collateral Agreement, the Pulitzer Assignors have granted (i) first-priority security interests, subject to certain priorities and limitations in the various agreements, in the Pulitzer Collateral and (ii) have granted first-priority lien mortgages or deeds of trust covering certain real estate, as collateral for the payment and performance of their obligations under the 2nd Lien Term Loan. Also, under the 2nd Lien Guarantee and Collateral Agreement, the Lee Legacy Assignors have granted (i) second-priority security interests, subject to certain priorities and limitations in the various agreements, in the Lee Legacy Collateral, and (ii) have granted second-priority lien mortgages or deeds of trust covering certain real estate, as collateral for the payment and performance of their obligations under the 2nd Lien Term Loan. Assets of, or used in the operations or business of, MNI are excluded. The rights of each of the collateral agents with respect to the Lee Legacy Collateral and the Pulitzer Collateral are subject to customary intercreditor and intercompany agreements. Other In connection with the 2014 Refinancing, we capitalized $37,819,000 of debt financing costs. Amortization of debt financing costs totaled $1,525,000 in the 26 weeks ended March 31, 2019. Amortization of such costs is estimated to total $1,933,000 for the remainder of 2019, $3,989,000 in 2020, $4,154,000 in 2021, $4,332,000 in 2022, and $1,121,000 in 2023. At March 31, 2019, we have $15,529,000 of unamortized debt financing costs recorded as a reduction of Long-term debt in our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Liquidity At March 31, 2019, after consideration of letters of credit, we have approximately $21,435,000 available for future use under our Revolving Facility, which expires on December 28, 2019. Including cash, our liquidity at March 31, 2019 totals $38,100,000. This liquidity amount excludes any future cash flows. We expect all interest and principal payments due in the next twelve months will be satisfied by existing cash and our cash flows, which will allow us to maintain an adequate level of liquidity. The Warrants, if and when exercised, would provide additional liquidity in an amount up to $25,140,000 subject to a reduction for any amounts the Company may elect to use to repay our 1st Lien Term Loan and/or the Notes. Excluding our Revolving Facility, which is undrawn as of March 2019, final maturities of our debt range from March 2022 through December 2022. There are numerous potential consequences under the Notes, 1st Lien Credit Facility and 2nd Lien Term Loan, if an event of default, as defined, occurs and is not remedied. Many of those consequences are beyond our control. The occurrence of one or more events of default would give rise to the right of the applicable lender(s) to exercise their remedies under the Notes, 1st Lien Credit Facility and 2nd Lien Term Loan, respectively, including, without limitation, the right to accelerate all outstanding debt and take actions authorized in such circumstances under applicable collateral security documents. Our ability to operate as a going concern is dependent on our ability to remain in compliance with debt covenants and to repay, refinance or amend our debt agreements as they become due. The Notes, 1st Lien Credit Facility and 2nd Lien Term Loan have only limited affirmative covenants with which we are required to maintain compliance. We are in compliance with our debt covenants at March 31, 2019.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for information about short-term and long-term debt arrangements, which includes amounts of borrowings under each line of credit, note payable, commercial paper issue, bonds indenture, debenture issue, own-share lending arrangements and any other contractual agreement to repay funds, and about the underlying arrangements, rationale for a classification as long-term, including repayment terms, interest rates, collateral provided, restrictions on use of assets and activities, whether or not in compliance with debt covenants, and other matters important to users of the financial statements, such as the effects of refinancing and noncompliance with debt covenants. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 470 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2208564 + Details
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