Share to twitterThe bankruptcy filings made this week by F+W Media offer a rare and revealing look at a company spinning out of control during the last two years, struggling with debt, the secular decline of print media, the loss of ad revenue, the harmful impact of free online content, and an ecommerce strategy that suddenly turned disastrous.
The end result is the bankruptcy filing, in which the 106-year-old company—with over $100 million in debt—is seeking protection from creditors . Through most of 2017 and 2018, Osberg said, costs skyrocketed, the burn rate was relentless, and revenue was declining. Financial covenants were violated, the company verged on running out of cash, 40% of the workforce was let go in two rounds of layoffs, and assets were desperately sold off in three separate deals.