-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Rand McNally Files Chapter 11
Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2003 11:49:30 -0500
From: David Cobb <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]

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Quoted from Crain's Chicago Business Newsroom and via Roadmaps-L -

Debt-laden mapmaker Rand McNally & Co. said late Tuesday that it plans
to
file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection next month, and will seek
approval of a prepackaged restructuring plan to cut debt and spur new
investment.

The closely held, 147-year-old Skokie company said it has reached an
agreement with its lenders to convert roughly $300 million of debt into
private equity. The recapitalization plan would give Los Angeles-based
buyout firm Leonard Green & Partners LP, which holds 60% of Rand
McNally's
debt, a majority stake in the company.

In a press release late Tuesday, the company said it expects its
creditors
to approve the plan by early February, and it expects to file a
prepackaged
Chapter 11 restructuring plan to a Chicago court soon after.

Rand McNally has been faltering since the McNally family sold the
company
in 1997 for about $500 million to New York-based venture capital firm
AEA
Investors Inc. The company, which sells printed maps, atlases,
guidebooks
and satellite mapping tools among other things, had sought bids for
itself
on Sept. 12, 2001, but the auction was scrapped after the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks, according to Reuters. Soon after, Leonard Green began
acquiring the company's debt, eventually taking possession of about $180
million of the company's $300 million of loans. That debt has been a
problem for Rand McNally, but the company did manage to turn a profit in
2002, a spokesman said. The privately held company does not disclose
financial results.

Rand McNally employs 1,000 workers and operates 25 stores - four in the
Chicago area. Normal business operations will continue throughout the
financial restructuring process, and no store closings or layoffs are
expected, the spokesman said.

***************************************************************************
David A. Cobb                                   Tel. 617.495.2417
Harvard Map Collection                          FAX  617.496.0440
Harvard College Library                         Email:
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Cambridge, MA 02138
HTTP://hcl.harvard.edu/maps
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