The New York Times Company announced on Wednesday that it planned to pay back a $250 million loan from the Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helú next month, more than three years ahead of its due date.
The Times Company had said earlier that it planned to pay back the loan, which is due in January 2015, in early 2012. But it said in a statement that its cash position allowed it to pay even earlier.
“Over the past two years we have significantly strengthened the Times Company’s cash position and our considerable and focused efforts have allowed us to prepay the notes far ahead of schedule,” Janet L. Robinson, the company’s president and chief executive, said in the statement.
Mr. Slim owns one of the largest individual stakes of the Times Company outside of the Sulzberger family, which controls the company. His January 2009 loan, with a 14 percent interest rate, helped the Times Company during a downturn in advertising sales across the industry.
The estimated prepayment will total about $279 million, including interest, the company said. Prepayment will incur a $46 million loss in the third quarter, the company said, but savings on interest will be more than $39 million a year through January 2015.
Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=e11feb8189d462ee12ce7822e7d56d53
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