The Indianapolis media company has filed a lawsuit that could prevent preferred shareholders from mounting a court challenge of the plan that would strip them of their right to collect millions of dollars in dividends.
Emmis Communications is calling a special meeting where investors will be asked to eliminate the right of preferred stockholders to receive millions of dollars in dividends. The firm also seeks approval for a reverse stock split that would prevent a looming NASDAQ delisting.
Emmis Communications Corp. has failed to comply with requirements to remain on the NASDAQ exchange, but the Indianapolis-based media firm said it plans another attempt to avoid being delisted from the well-known stock index.
Veteran Indianapolis Monthly chief Deborah Paul is easing into retirement, leaving her full-time gig as editorial director of Emmis Publishing to work as a consultant.
The company has made tremendous progress in recent weeks addressing problems that have scared off investors and pushed the price of its common stock below $1.
The media company’s $110.9 million quarterly profit was largely due to the sale of three radio stations and the repurchase of preferred stock. Revenue fell 11 percent.
The Indianapolis communications company confirmed it is seeking a replacement for David Zivan, who had led the magazine for six years.
The investors are concerned Emmis will gain voting rights to two-thirds of the preferred shares and that it would use that clout to get out of paying millions of dollars in dividends.
Radio station WFNI-AM 1070 is challenging some FM music stations in the battle for male listeners.
The transaction with New York-based Alden Global Capital, the largest holder of Emmis preferred stock, is expected to end more than a year of legal wrangling involving the two companies.
Indianapolis-based Emmis Communications Corp. sued a former board member Friday, claiming he leaked information that caused a major holder of preferred stock to drop plans to resell those shares back to the company.
Indianapolis-based Emmis Communications Corp. announced Thursday that second-quarter revenue slipped from last year and losses nearly quadrupled. However, the sale of three radio stations for $120 million, a reduction in debt and increases in advertising give executives hope.
The day before closing on a $120 million sale of three radio stations, Emmis was warned about non-compliance with NASDAQ’s minimum-price rule for the third time in two years.
During the quarter ended May 31, ratings at Emmis Communications’ four local stations greatly outpaced other stations in the market.
For the quarter ended May 31, Emmis suffered a loss of $4.5 million, or 12 cents a share, compared with a loss of $3.9 million, or 10 cents a share, in the same period last year.
Emmis' sale of two stations in Chicago and one in New York City will allow the company to chop more than $100 million off its $331 million in long-term debt—clearing the way for it to arrange a refinancing under favorable terms.
Emmis Communications Corp. has reached an agreement to sell three big-market radio stations to a partnership involving a private equity firm and a prominent media executive, the company disclosed Tuesday morning.
Emmis Communications Corp., headquartered on Monument Circle, is a media company that owns radio stations and magazines.
The Indianapolis-based media company said an improving economy helped it cut its losses as revenue from radio operations grew 4.3 percent. Still, the company continues to struggle with a heavy debt load.
The ultimate test of whether buybacks are good deals for shareholders hinges on whether the price paid for the stock proves over time to have been a bargain or inflated.
