New York Times receives $250 mln loan from Mexican mogul

BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Chinese medianet) -- The New York Times

Co. said Monday it received 250 million U.S. dollars in financing from one of

the world's richest men, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, to help it through

financial problems, media reports said.

Slim, 68, who already owns 6.9 percent of the Times's

stock, would invest 250 million dollars in the form of six-year notes with

warrants that are convertible into common shares, the company said in a

statement.

Under the terms of the deal, Slim will receive no

representation on the company's board or any shares with special voting rights

like those of the Sulzberger family, which controls the company for 112 years.

Nonetheless, he will be one of the largest shareholders in the newspaper

publisher, following the Ochs-Sulzberger family, who own about 19 percent of

company.

"This agreement provides us with increased financial

flexibility to continue to execute on our long-term strategy," Janet L.

Robinson, chief executive of the Times Company, said in a statement. "We

continue to explore other financing initiatives and are focused on reducing our

total debt through the cash we generate from our businesses and other decisive

steps."

The investment comes at a critical time for The New

York Times. The company, which owns the namesake newspaper as well as The Boston

Globe and other local U.S. papers, is struggling to pay off more than 1.1

billion dollars in debt in the next few years, even as advertising revenue

deteriorates.

The Times has 46 million dollars in cash, but faces a

400 million-dollar credit facility that expires in May. The Times's shares have

dived 70 percent from their 12-month high of 21.14 dollar in April 2008 to 6.41

dollar on Friday.

Slim, the world's second-richest man according to

Forbes magazine, purchased 6.4 percent of the company's publicly traded shares

in September, according to a Wall Street Journal report. A spokesman on Sunday

declined to answer questions, including whether Slim wants to eventually buy the

Times.

(Agencies)