The New York Times Company (NYT) Monetizes Content and Reduces Debt

March 18, 2013

The New York Times Company (NYT) has started to monetize its content and reduced debt to the point it could soon start returning capital to shareholders in the form of dividends, says Bobby Edgerton, Co-Founder, CIO, Executive Officer and Principal at the Capital Investment Companies.

“I’m fascinated with New York Times now. They have the greatest content in the world, and now they are starting to monetize it and not give it away. Their debt has gone from around a billion dollars to half that, and they’ve got about as much cash as debt now. So they could start paying a dividend. It’s a fascinating stuff,” Edgerton said.

The changes at the NYT reflect a change in strategy, and shedding overvalued assets may be part of the path to success the media company may take.

“Talking about The New York Times again, their print is down; print advertising is probably down in half. And the fact that they were heavily indebted and had paid $1.1 billion for The Boston Globe, they are trying to sell it now for about $170 million, they bought at the top. But I look at the change in the company. I look at the exact market value,” Edgerton said.

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