Ziff Davis announces plans to file for bankruptcy

New York (NY) - Ziff Davis, the publisher behind some of the biggest computer and video game magazines in the country, announced that it has filed for bankruptcy but plans to bounce back on its feet soon.

The publisher said it is reeling from declining sales in print advertisements as well as subscriptions. Of the $500 million in liabilities it reported in December, it only has around $310 million in assets. Ziff Davis has reached a tentative agreement with the major secured creditors to convert $225 million of the debt into $57.5 million worth of secured notes and 88.8% of the common stock in the restructured company. Of course going bankrupt isn’t the end of the world, heck look at Donald Trump, but the deal seems to give up all future control of the company in exchange for lower short-term debt.

The bankruptcy petition was filed in the Southern District of New York, but the company expects to emerge from Chapter 11 this summer. Day to day life for employees should change as Ziff Davis has released a statement saying, “As part of these motions, the Company has asked the Court for permission to continue paying employee wages and salaries and to provide employee benefits without interruption.”

However, company CEO Jason Young said this is only a temporary setback. "We feel like we’re in a position poised for wonderful growth. We just needed to solve this issue," he told the Associated Press.

Ziff Davis publishes the magazines PC Magazine, Electronic Gaming Monthly, and Games For Windows : The Magazine, along with some online publications. In recent years, the company has discontinued several popular magazines like Computer Gaming World and the Official PlayStation Magazine. The company is one of a handful of key players in the technology magazine publishing business, alongside Future and IDG.

Ziff Davis said that print advertising revenues have dropped from $215 million to $40 million in the past six years.