Cumulus Media, a radio conglomerate company that owns and operates over 446 radio stations throughout the country, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. As Variety reports, the company reached the agreement to file with 69% of its shareholders, announcing their $2.4 billion in debt, as well as ceased payments on interests and bonds during the “restructuring process.”
Cumulus President/CEO Mary Berner assured in a press briefing that: “Over the last two years, we have focused on implementing a business plan to reverse the company’s multi-year ratings, revenue and EBITDA declines, create a culture that fosters motivated and engaged employees, and build an operational foundation to support the kind of performance we believe Cumulus is capable of delivering. This has resulted in increased ratings, revenue market share gains, improved employee satisfaction, reduced employee turnover and, over the last several quarters, our return to year-over-year EBITDA and revenue growth – demonstrating that turnaround has not only been successful, but is continuing. However, as we have noted consistently, the debt overhang left by previous years of underperformance remains a significant financial challenge that we must overcome for our operational turnaround to proceed.”
Berner, who has experience bringing a company back from bankruptcy, as The New York Post reports that she did with Reader’s Digest back in 2009, claims that “investing in our business and people to strengthen our competitiveness and ultimately drive growth” is the key to bring Cumulus Media back into the fold during the restructuring, which is set to begin on May 27th, 2018.
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