Hog Farmer editor says 'business as usual'

Monday, April 5, 2010

National Hog Farmer magazine editor Dale Miller says it is "business as usual" for the magazine, even though its parent company has sought bankruptcy protection.

Penton Business Media Holdings Inc. publishes 113 trade magazines. Published reports indicate revenue fell 7.5 per cent in 2008 and a further 26.2 per cent in 2009. The economy-wide recession was blamed.

Miller says Penton filed "a pre-organized Chapter 11" and has made an agreement with its lenders to reorganize its debt "just like a lot of hog farmers have been doing."

Penton's "ag division," based in Minneapolis, "has done quite well compared to the other divisions in the company," says Miller, who has been with the magazine for 38 years. "I wouldn't say that we are setting any records but we are holding our own."

According to filings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, Penton has US$831 million in assets and $1.13 billion in liabilities as of Nov. 30. Penton's owners are New York private equity firm MidOcean Partners and an investment firm sponsored by Wasserstein & Co. BP