Thursday, April 29, 2010

New Program from Adult FriendFinder , earn $500 per day


New Program from Adult FriendFinder, gain $500 per twenty-four hours


Answers your web site provide to a more “grownups/adult only” audience? Our mature FriendFinder personals site has shown to be an amazing income GENERATOR for their affiliates. With 31,696,591 active members, Adult FriendFinder is the most pop personals site for folks who are searching a blast!

They pay up to $1.00 for apiece unique visitor, or up to 75% of initial membership fees plus repeating bonus. They also offer $30.00 per order, regardless of the purchase amount (starts at $19.95).

Their high-converting Adult FriendFinder site is now usable in English, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, German, and Portuguese!

After this short explanation I'll excuse you how to earn $500 per day with no investment. But this formula is not exactly clean , so stop reading if you care too much about your ethics!

Else check my screen shot before rading.


The best thing around this formula Absolutely unpaid. You do not have to expend a penny about promoting, making a site, anything! As if I marked before, this free money making formula might not be too ethical in some people’s senses so feel free to stop reading at anytime.




All right, so here’s the hidden behind this money making formula - we will be preying on guys who are searching girls. It’s manly replete then there’s beautiful much an limitless supply of these character of guys on the web - which means more benefit for you! A few people might call this e-whoring but it’s not - you won’t have to talk with these guys so don’t worry!

On to the method…

First you must have a Gmail (Get One Here or download automated Gmail Creator) and an Adult Friend Finders account (Get One Here). Once you click on the Adult Friend Finders link, scroll down til you see

Option I - Webmaster,EarnMoney - U click this , to Get paid for each click:
(for this time I just teach U Option I , Maybe nexk time i'll teach U the other option)
and click on Affiliate Sign Up to the right. You arise to $1 per click on this affiliate payment alternative and you will be able to easily catch 1000s of hits a day! You will not earn with any other payment alternatives (not using this method at least) so make sure you’ve selected Option I.

At once when your signing up to be an affiliate, notice that it asks for your website url. Whenever you've one, merely put it in else merely Google “Free Hosting Account” and create any simple site for free.

~~~> If your interested in a paying host along with a unpaid domain name, I extremely advise ThinkHost

Once you get your login id and password, go log-in and then scroll down and search

*This is the default account for g*******, so you can simply advertize http://adultfriendfinder.com/go/*********

Something like http://adultfriendfinder.com/go/g******* would be your referral link, copy it down into a notepad. Whew, your done.

~~~> Note: In the top menu, you might notice the tab “Other Sites to Promote”. Feel free to use any other one of them, they all offer the same offer.

Okay now onto setting up your gmail account…

Make sure that the gmail account that you’ve created is something girly - not too obvious of course. If you still haven’t created one yet, make one here. Once you’ve created a girly account name and logged in, click on the settings page on the top of your screen.

Scroll down til you see Vacation Responder, then turn it on with a message like this :

Subject: -leave the subject empty-
Message: Heyyy, thanks for replying to my post! blahblahblahblahblah…
You should register for this profile site for free at -your link here-. After you sign up, search for me!!!
You will be able to see my photographs and videos at that place =)))
Yea… you should edit it… especially the blahblahblah part, lol. Remember, be creative man!

Now that you’ve successfully set everything up, the next part is to get visitors to your site for FREE.

You’ll be promoting your email through

http://www.craigslist.com
http://www.gumtree.com


and pretty much any other free classified ads/dating site that you know. Craigslist targets US users while Gumtree is made for London. Go fiddle around with Craigslist and/or Gumtree til you’ve figured out how to use them. Remember to post your ads in the Dating section where you’re going to try to make as many guys email you back as possible. Make your ad similar to this:

Hiii, my name’s -name here- and I’m -age here-. I’m looking for a sweet guy to talk to =( I’m very sad right now. -leave your email somewhere in the message-

You’ll likely prefer to make your own message so more people will email you. Now rinse and duplicate on another e-mail account, IP address and ad message. The more you do this, the more profit you’ll make. If your IP address gets banned, you will be able to simply reset your modem to switch your IP (if your modem supports this), use a web proxy at http://www.proxy.org or change your IP through other formulas. Enjoy!

Sign up for Adult Friend Finder here
Sign up for a Gmail account here




See Also :

How to Make Your First $30 at Inbox Dollars in Under an Hour



New Program from Adult FriendFinder , earn $500 per day

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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Fokker f27

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Fokker f27


Plane containing AFP Chief makes preventative shooting down

The Fokker F-27 plane containing Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff, Gen. Delfin Bangit and Philippine Air Force (PAF) commanding general, Lt. Gen. Oscar Rabena Wednesday made a preventative landing in Davao City after the precautionary light at the aircraft’s cockpit started blinking.


PAF 3rd Air Division commander, Maj. Gen. Lino Horacio Lapinid, ordered aviates of the two-engine Fokker had to shut down the aircraft’s left engine after the engine’s light at the cockpit switched on as the plane was nearing the Davao Airport.


Aside from Bangit and Rabena, as well aboard the plane was AFP spokesman, Lt. Col. Arnulfo Burgos, Jr. Bangit and company followed by Cotabato City and were on their way to Davao City to attend the Bishops-Ulama Conference-AFP-PNP Forum.


The aircraft allowed for Cotabato past 2:00 p.m. and around 3:00 p.m., the lights switched on as the plane was about 10 miles away from the Davao Airport, allotting to Lapinid.


Lt. Col. Gerry Zamudio, PAF spokesman, on the other hand, said: "The aviate of our F-27 performed preventative measurings. These are for of strange meter reading on the engine panel, which they found 40 minutes after burlesque. As part of precautionary measures, the pilot had to make a precautionary landing to check what was causing it.”


Agreeing to Lapinid, the archetypes had to close down one of the plane’s engine to forbid additional equipment casualty. He added together one of the add-ons of the plane’s left engine appeared to have suffered loose thread.


“Palanding na rin sila kaya nag-decide na rin yun pilot (to switch off one of the engines) kasi they made a normal approach,” said Lapinid.

He added the plane slowed down a little as a result of the incident. “Nadagdagan ng 10 minutes, instead na dumating sila within 45 minutes naging 50 minutes,” he said.


NPA rebels reduced in number, says air force commander

The number of NPA rebels have maximally reduced equated to the previous number which was calculated at 25,000.

Thus said Maj. Gen. Lino Horacio E. Lapinid, air force's third Air Division Commander, during a press conference held at the Tactical Operations Group (TOG)-10.

Lapinid said, "Based on our intelligence reports, we have less than 4,500 NPA rebels nationwide [today]."

It can be remembered, that it has been President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's directive to end the insurgency problem in the country by 2010, Lapinid cited wherein it is among the current administration's thrust to beat the odds particularly, to terminate hostilities with the NPA and the MILF.

As far as modernization of aircraft is concerned, Maj. Gen. Lapinid discoursed a few continuous tense attempts to efficaciously annihilate New People's Army rebels countrywide.

"…as of now, we are building up our flying training capabilities," he stated. He also stressed that 18 SF-260 military trainer aircrafts will be delivered by June 2010.

Regarding PAF's assets, Commander Lapinid said, "We still have two (2) Nomad aircrafts which are permanently stationed in Palawan."

He further said that the PAF has 15 F-14s which were donated by Korea that are being utilized at present.

"We also have several Fokker F-27 airliners," he said.

He also indicated that recently they had an exercise on search and rescue with the Malaysian Navy.

However, he admitted that the PAF lacks gadgets when it comes to detection of disaster. But, he elucidated that the Philippine Air Force is always the first to come and respond when calamity strikes.

The 3rd Air Division of the Philippine Air Force is the in-charge for the whole Mindanao. It has five (5) tactical operation groups complemented by elements of tactical operations. (XU DevCom / PIA) [top]



Yucatan - Mexico Real Estate's Unique Cultural Gem


While selecting to purchase United Mexican States realty and come through our new house, we count the quality of the realty, the comfort and the lifestyle it offers and the location; as a part of all of this, we also keep our fascination with Mexican culture in the back of our mind, whether it be the food, the euphony, the colourful nontextual matter and orthodox costumes, or the magnificent architectural history. Within Mexico, Yucatan Real Estate is one of the places that most expert presents the compounding of a well-fixed lifestyle with a rich and distinct culture, easily accessible to American and Canadians who make this area their home.



Yucatan is among the areas of this nation which is systematically recognized even within Mexico as having an undischarged richness of culture and custom. These truth was newly reflected in the selection of Yucatan as the "Guest of honour" for the famed San Marcos Fair. This annual solemnization is held in late April / early May in the state of Aguascalientes, in the north-center of Mexico, and is one of the most famed in a land where fairs, celebrations are very frequent occurrences. It is, in fact, uncommon to have a fair anywhere in Mexico without some sort of agency of Yucatan's acculturation, whether an demonstration of the old Mayans, or the costumes, trip the light fantastic toe and nutrient customs that have sprouted up from this acculturation since then.



These culture admits a nutrient style distinct from the rest of Mexico, admitting the long-familiar "cochinita pibil," a kind of pork in a regional sauce, often eaten as a taco, and many other foods with Mayan-sounding names that can be difficult to pronounce. There is traditional dancing and artwork, architecture, language (the Mayan language is still alive and used on a day-after-day basis in many professions), and, of course, the ancient pyramid ruins.



For Americans and Canadians who choose to purchase real estate and live in the state's capital city of Merida will enjoy all of these either within the city itself, or only a short dispel. Within Merida, regional food and traditional music complement the colonial architecture and lovely city gardens (hand in hand with international dining, live jazz and modern condos, for those who want it). Very nearby there are many colonial towns with beautifully restored old cathedrals and town squares, where residents can make day trips to buy handicrafts – hand-woven hammocks to enjoy Merida's relaxing lifestyle are a favorite.



Yucatan MLS listings will display many properties types, ranging from traditional homes in Merida's historic center to new condominiums in golf course developments or on the beachfront to "haciendas" (old estates) in the countryside. Whichever your orientation, you can live in Yucatan with the soothe and lifestyle ideal for you, and enjoy the rich

Yucatan - Mexico Real Estate's Unique Cultural Gem


While selecting to purchase United Mexican States realty and come through our new house, we count the quality of the realty, the comfort and the lifestyle it offers and the location; as a part of all of this, we also keep our fascination with Mexican culture in the back of our mind, whether it be the food, the euphony, the colourful nontextual matter and orthodox costumes, or the magnificent architectural history. Within Mexico, Yucatan Real Estate is one of the places that most expert presents the compounding of a well-fixed lifestyle with a rich and distinct culture, easily accessible to American and Canadians who make this area their home.



Yucatan is among the areas of this nation which is systematically recognized even within Mexico as having an undischarged richness of culture and custom. These truth was newly reflected in the selection of Yucatan as the "Guest of honour" for the famed San Marcos Fair. This annual solemnization is held in late April / early May in the state of Aguascalientes, in the north-center of Mexico, and is one of the most famed in a land where fairs, celebrations are very frequent occurrences. It is, in fact, uncommon to have a fair anywhere in Mexico without some sort of agency of Yucatan's acculturation, whether an demonstration of the old Mayans, or the costumes, trip the light fantastic toe and nutrient customs that have sprouted up from this acculturation since then.



These culture admits a nutrient style distinct from the rest of Mexico, admitting the long-familiar "cochinita pibil," a kind of pork in a regional sauce, often eaten as a taco, and many other foods with Mayan-sounding names that can be difficult to pronounce. There is traditional dancing and artwork, architecture, language (the Mayan language is still alive and used on a day-after-day basis in many professions), and, of course, the ancient pyramid ruins.



For Americans and Canadians who choose to purchase real estate and live in the state's capital city of Merida will enjoy all of these either within the city itself, or only a short dispel. Within Merida, regional food and traditional music complement the colonial architecture and lovely city gardens (hand in hand with international dining, live jazz and modern condos, for those who want it). Very nearby there are many colonial towns with beautifully restored old cathedrals and town squares, where residents can make day trips to buy handicrafts – hand-woven hammocks to enjoy Merida's relaxing lifestyle are a favorite.



Yucatan MLS listings will display many properties types, ranging from traditional homes in Merida's historic center to new condominiums in golf course developments or on the beachfront to "haciendas" (old estates) in the countryside. Whichever your orientation, you can live in Yucatan with the soothe and lifestyle ideal for you, and enjoy the rich

Monday, April 26, 2010

Bugatti veyron price

Bugatti Veyron Price - Dr Evil Would Be Proud
 The Bugatti Veyron was recently showcased on National Geographic as being one of the baddest, most expensive cars you can buy. How expensive? Many people will gasp when they read what the Bugatti Veryon sticker price is...Let's just say that Dr. Evil would have been pleased if he could have one in place of destroying the world...how does One...MILLION dollars sound?

The Veyron is indeed a best, with over 1000 horsepower and a 0-60 time of under 3 seconds. What more could you ask for with such a small amount of money? Small for Bill Gates perhaps. The funny thing is that the car was engineered and built by the people who brought you the cute little Volkswagen Beetle. My friend had a 1964 Beetle, and let me tell you, we were lucky if that car would even make it up to 45 mph, let alone 60. In fact, if we hit 60, we were more than likely heading down the mountains of Southwestern Pennsylvania with no brakes.

The odd thing about this car is that I think it is awesome, but looking at it more, my gosh, did somebody crash this thing into the ugly stick forest? I think those who find this car beautiful are just blinded by the beauty of its performance. I guess kinda like people who think Madonna is really hot looking, but really they are just impressed by her performance...wait, I don't think that came out right.

But, in the spirit of bad choice of words, irregardless, the car happens to be a favorite to many and will most certainly be the poster replacement of Bo Derrick, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, and the Lamborghini Countach of the 1970's.

Feast for car lovers hits the city
Car enthusiasts are in for a treat with some of the world's best and most expensive cars at the Auto China 2010 exhibition.

The show, which opened at the new China International Exhibition Center on Friday, run until May 2.

The newest vehicles from around the world are on show, giving buyers of the ever-growing elite car market an eyeful.

Some of Europe's top luxury carmakers will make their presence felt, with exhibits that will make the enthusiast's mouth water.

About the most expensive car at the show will be the 736-kilowatt Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport, which has a price tag of 13.4 million yuan. The Veyron is powered by a W16 engine that can power the car to more than 400 km/h and accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in just 2.5 seconds.

But there will be cheaper cars on show, including the latest Rolls-Royce Ghost and the Ferrari 458 Italia. Each will sell for about 4 million yuan. And if your budget can't quite stretch to that, there will be the Porsche 911 Turbo S, Bentley Continental Suportsport and the Maserati GranCabrio, all estimated to cost around the 3 million mark.

Sales of luxury marques such as Rolls-Royce and Bentley had a year-on-year growth of 208 percent, said Guo Yong, director of the information center of Yayuncun Auto Market.

Last month, more than 200 luxury cars were sold from the dealers - the biggest auto market in Beijing - including 52 Mercedes-Benz S-class, 40 BMW 7-series and 56 Audi Q7 and Q5 SUVs. In addition, 73 Porsches were sold.

Cars that are energy saving and emit lower levels of carbon are getting increasingly popular, he said.

"Diesel vehicles are gradually being accepted by the market, and imported diesel cars such as the Volkswagan Touareg 3.0TDI, Audi Q7 3.0TDI and Land Rover Freelander 2.2L have sold very well," he said.

Statistics from Ernst & Young Consulting show that the high-end car market in China will keep increasing by 10 percent every year.

Sales of high-end Audis in China now make up 20 percent of the company's global sales.

In the first quarter of 2010, Audi sold 51,449 cars in China, an increase of 77 percent over the same period last year.

Li Dan, auto analyst of China Galaxy Securities Research, said luxury car sales "depend more on the increasing wealth of the customers".

"Since the start of the year, many people accumulated wealth quite easily due to the expanding real estate industry and have become willing to spend more on replacing their cars," Li said.

The China Luxury Goods Consumption Report, prepared by Nankai University, show that luxury goods consumers are different from their Western counterparts.

In China, more consumers buy luxury goods to show off, and to express their social status, but in Western countries, the rich buy show their personal preference.

Ji Sensen is such the Chinese elite. Ji, 42, recently spent three million yuan on a Mercedes-Benz S600.

"I bought it because I love the brand; but more importantly, it is a symbol of my financial strength," he said. "After I bought this car, my business did better than before."

 Tonight: National Geographic Airs Two Hours Of Hot, Supercar Action


 Apart from a certain well-known football program, Monday isn't usually a great night for television. But tonight that may change, as the National Geographic Channel delves deep inside the secret world of luxury automobiles for two steamy hours of engineer-on-car action. Added bonus: the cars in question are the Audi R8 and the Bugatti Veyron. Not twins, but cousins at least -- if you're into that sort of thing.

The first of the two shows is technically a repeat, but it only debuted a month or so ago, so it's still fairly fresh. It features the Veyron as part of National Geographic Channel's Man Made series, in an episode unimaginatively but accurately called, "Bugatti Super Car". Nat Geo took their battery of high-end cameras to Alsace, France to show how the Veyron is made, from tip to tail. Over the course of an hour, the team does a good job of explaining the marvels behind Bugatti engineering that help push the Veyron's sticker price to $1,750,000. They also explain why ordinary stuff like fuel economy doesn't matter (in fact, can't matter) when you're talking about a car capable of 250+ mph and packing nearly 1000 bhp. If you missed this show the first time around, here's the opening segment:
 The second show is a premiere, centered on the current darling of the supercar and entertainment worlds, the Audi R8. Ultimate Factories: Audi can seem a little smarmy and over-the-top at times -- but then, that's probably to be expected from the channel that's made an entire TV series about cutting things in half. (That said, this Wednesday's Cut It In Half: Airplane is already on our Tivo queue.)

Despite the razzle-dazzle, the Nat Geo team has put together an engaging episode that explains the R8 in ample detail to hold the attention of enth

Bugatti veyron price

Bugatti Veyron Price - Dr Evil Would Be Proud
 The Bugatti Veyron was recently showcased on National Geographic as being one of the baddest, most expensive cars you can buy. How expensive? Many people will gasp when they read what the Bugatti Veryon sticker price is...Let's just say that Dr. Evil would have been pleased if he could have one in place of destroying the world...how does One...MILLION dollars sound?

The Veyron is indeed a best, with over 1000 horsepower and a 0-60 time of under 3 seconds. What more could you ask for with such a small amount of money? Small for Bill Gates perhaps. The funny thing is that the car was engineered and built by the people who brought you the cute little Volkswagen Beetle. My friend had a 1964 Beetle, and let me tell you, we were lucky if that car would even make it up to 45 mph, let alone 60. In fact, if we hit 60, we were more than likely heading down the mountains of Southwestern Pennsylvania with no brakes.

The odd thing about this car is that I think it is awesome, but looking at it more, my gosh, did somebody crash this thing into the ugly stick forest? I think those who find this car beautiful are just blinded by the beauty of its performance. I guess kinda like people who think Madonna is really hot looking, but really they are just impressed by her performance...wait, I don't think that came out right.

But, in the spirit of bad choice of words, irregardless, the car happens to be a favorite to many and will most certainly be the poster replacement of Bo Derrick, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, and the Lamborghini Countach of the 1970's.

Feast for car lovers hits the city
Car enthusiasts are in for a treat with some of the world's best and most expensive cars at the Auto China 2010 exhibition.

The show, which opened at the new China International Exhibition Center on Friday, run until May 2.

The newest vehicles from around the world are on show, giving buyers of the ever-growing elite car market an eyeful.

Some of Europe's top luxury carmakers will make their presence felt, with exhibits that will make the enthusiast's mouth water.

About the most expensive car at the show will be the 736-kilowatt Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport, which has a price tag of 13.4 million yuan. The Veyron is powered by a W16 engine that can power the car to more than 400 km/h and accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in just 2.5 seconds.

But there will be cheaper cars on show, including the latest Rolls-Royce Ghost and the Ferrari 458 Italia. Each will sell for about 4 million yuan. And if your budget can't quite stretch to that, there will be the Porsche 911 Turbo S, Bentley Continental Suportsport and the Maserati GranCabrio, all estimated to cost around the 3 million mark.

Sales of luxury marques such as Rolls-Royce and Bentley had a year-on-year growth of 208 percent, said Guo Yong, director of the information center of Yayuncun Auto Market.

Last month, more than 200 luxury cars were sold from the dealers - the biggest auto market in Beijing - including 52 Mercedes-Benz S-class, 40 BMW 7-series and 56 Audi Q7 and Q5 SUVs. In addition, 73 Porsches were sold.

Cars that are energy saving and emit lower levels of carbon are getting increasingly popular, he said.

"Diesel vehicles are gradually being accepted by the market, and imported diesel cars such as the Volkswagan Touareg 3.0TDI, Audi Q7 3.0TDI and Land Rover Freelander 2.2L have sold very well," he said.

Statistics from Ernst & Young Consulting show that the high-end car market in China will keep increasing by 10 percent every year.

Sales of high-end Audis in China now make up 20 percent of the company's global sales.

In the first quarter of 2010, Audi sold 51,449 cars in China, an increase of 77 percent over the same period last year.

Li Dan, auto analyst of China Galaxy Securities Research, said luxury car sales "depend more on the increasing wealth of the customers".

"Since the start of the year, many people accumulated wealth quite easily due to the expanding real estate industry and have become willing to spend more on replacing their cars," Li said.

The China Luxury Goods Consumption Report, prepared by Nankai University, show that luxury goods consumers are different from their Western counterparts.

In China, more consumers buy luxury goods to show off, and to express their social status, but in Western countries, the rich buy show their personal preference.

Ji Sensen is such the Chinese elite. Ji, 42, recently spent three million yuan on a Mercedes-Benz S600.

"I bought it because I love the brand; but more importantly, it is a symbol of my financial strength," he said. "After I bought this car, my business did better than before."

 Tonight: National Geographic Airs Two Hours Of Hot, Supercar Action


 Apart from a certain well-known football program, Monday isn't usually a great night for television. But tonight that may change, as the National Geographic Channel delves deep inside the secret world of luxury automobiles for two steamy hours of engineer-on-car action. Added bonus: the cars in question are the Audi R8 and the Bugatti Veyron. Not twins, but cousins at least -- if you're into that sort of thing.

The first of the two shows is technically a repeat, but it only debuted a month or so ago, so it's still fairly fresh. It features the Veyron as part of National Geographic Channel's Man Made series, in an episode unimaginatively but accurately called, "Bugatti Super Car". Nat Geo took their battery of high-end cameras to Alsace, France to show how the Veyron is made, from tip to tail. Over the course of an hour, the team does a good job of explaining the marvels behind Bugatti engineering that help push the Veyron's sticker price to $1,750,000. They also explain why ordinary stuff like fuel economy doesn't matter (in fact, can't matter) when you're talking about a car capable of 250+ mph and packing nearly 1000 bhp. If you missed this show the first time around, here's the opening segment:
 The second show is a premiere, centered on the current darling of the supercar and entertainment worlds, the Audi R8. Ultimate Factories: Audi can seem a little smarmy and over-the-top at times -- but then, that's probably to be expected from the channel that's made an entire TV series about cutting things in half. (That said, this Wednesday's Cut It In Half: Airplane is already on our Tivo queue.)

Despite the razzle-dazzle, the Nat Geo team has put together an engaging episode that explains the R8 in ample detail to hold the attention of enth

Debtorboards

What is Debtorboards? 
Debtorboards, operated by Simple Machines LLC, is a web forum where users or members can share tips on how to defend against debtors.

Debtorboards claims that up to date, debtorboards members have collected $388,151.12 from creditors and have beaten back lawsuits attempting to collect $335,197 from creditors.

Debtorboards covers all topics you can possibly think of regarding debt collection including credit basics, suing your creditors, laws and resources such as telephone consumer protection act, other federal statutes, rules, regulations and FTC opinions, case law, state laws, and all government agencies and organizations involved in credit and debt business such credit reporting agencies, original creditors, collectors and agencies, and consumer attorneys, bankruptcy, and the kindrox archive among others.

Debtorboards with 5886 members covers 8407 topics and 64550 posts.

This is a very informative information forum site. However, consumers may consider using their local attorneys to defend against wrongful debt collection.

For more information on Debtorboards, please visit the website at Debtorboards.com.

Some basic information for consumers

If you fail to pay bills, or a creditor mistakenly or deliberately make it appear that you do, a debt collector may be contacting you.

As a consumer, you are protected under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) enforced by the The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency. The law prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect from you.

Debt collectors can be collection agencies, lawyers and companies that buy delinquent debts and then try to collect them.

The Act covers personal, family, and household debts including money you owe on a personal credit card account, an auto loan, a medical bill,and your mortgage. The FDCPA doesn’t cover debts however you incurred to run a business.

You may want to talk to debt collectors at least once and then decide whether you want them to further contact you or not. If you decide not to see them again, put your thought in writing and send it to them in certified letters telling them you don't own the debt, or you can't repay it immediately. They will send you a letter specifying their action either telling you do not own the debt anymore, or they may tell you their further action like filing a lawsuit.

If you send the debt collector a letter stating that you don’t owe any or all of the money, or asking for verification of the debt, that collector must stop contacting you. You have to send that letter within 30 days after you receive the validation notice. But a collector can begin contacting you again if it sends you written verification of the debt, like a copy of a bill for the amount you owe.

Debtorboards And Coupon Mom Offer Help To Consumers Unlike Fraudulent Debt Settlement Companies

In these tough economic times it's very challenging to stay on top of the bills while paying down credit cards if you're an average working class citizen. For millions of Americans who are feeling the pinch of reduced hours at work, they turn to credit cards to help them through these tough times.

If you have a heavy credit card debt load and something goes wrong in your life it's easy to panic. Many turn to debt settlement companies, which are nothing more than parasites and vultures who prey upon the desperation of consumers trapped under the yoke of credit card debt.

If you are thinking about "working with" a debt settlment company prepare to be screwed...royally. They promise you that they'll get your debts settled for 30 cents on the dollar. However, there's one catch-you have to stop paying your creditors while you pay the debt settlement company each month. And, guess what? You have to "build up" the money in the account before they'll allegedly try to settle your debts.

For some people who are $20,000 in debt it may take three years or better to build up enough money in the debt settlment account before they can attempt to settle your debts. By that point you'll probably have been sued already and will have had your wages garnished. Thousands of people fall for the debt settlment scams and would be better of declaring bankruptcy especially considering there's no promise that a credit card company will negotiate. Then you're out all of that money and up the creek without a paddle.

Many of these debt settlment parasites try to associate themselves with President Obama's bailout programs, which is about as lowrent as it gets. Now that the bottom-feeding debt settlement companies are being exposed for fraud, hopefully Uncle Sam can outlaw this rotten industry. Senator Jay Rockefeller said he expressed "disdain and contempt" for practices that the Government Accountability Office found when they had investigators posing as consumers with debt problems contact twenty debt settlement companies.

For those who are under the gun from creditors there is somewhere for you to turn; Debtorboards.

Debtorboards.com is a community where they offer consumers ways to get back at the man so to speak.

Debtorboards educates troubled consumers with ways to defend themselves against the horrendous practices of debt collection agencies as well as ways to sue debt collectors. Face it, we all have a loved one or friend who has been in a tough situation and creditors use every tactic under the sun to try and get money out of them. Many of these people are buried under a mountain of debt, not by choice, but out of necessity. The cost of living in America has skyrocketed and many need to use credit cards just to put gas in their cars to get to work. Some need them to pay for medicine or even food for their families.

For those of you who aren't trapped in credit card debt hell, but looking to save a few bucks at the store, then Coupon Mom has some great tips for you. Coupon Mom's website at...well couponmom.com offers a plethora of printable grocery coupons. If you play your cards right you can save hundreds of dollars a year.

Stephanie Nelson, who is better known as Coupon Mom has a new book out called The Coupon Mom’s Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills In Half.

For consumers in good and bad situations, Couponmom.com is a great resource to save on your grocery bill.

Remember, if you're under a mountain of credit card debt your best options are to negotiate directly with credit card companies or to seek credit counseling. By no means, turn to a debt settlement company or your problems will multiply.

Debtorboards: Help for Debtors
What is a debtorboards? A debtor boards is a place to go online when you need help getting out of debt.

Steven Katz is a debt collector’s worst nightmare. Sound good? Than you’ve gotten a call from a debt collector. I’ve even gotten other people’s calls and let me tell you, they are the rudest of people.

According to the New York Times, a man named Steven Katz has been a bill collector and a trainer against debt collector, “For years, he has run what he calls the Steven Katz School of Bill Collector Education, otherwise known as the “’credit terrorist training camp.’”

Mr. Katz is 58 and won against the debt collector as he has experience from both ends of the spectrum. He has been a debt collector and had his credit score ruined.

Not knowing is the most dangerous thing you can do.

Mr. Katz has a website where if you need help with debt collectors, you can go and get that help.

Go to: www.debtorboards.com

Debtor boards is a website where someone can get real help and read real stories.

Mr. Katz has won $36,000 in judgments against terrorist debt collectors. Mr. Katz’s website runs a boot camp and the next one is in May in San Francisco at a cost of $2495.00 a person. It’s not cheap, but neither is debt. Go to www.debtorboards.com

for more information on how to fight back and not be bullied. If you have unsecured debt, it’s unsecured, so know what your legal rights are and good luck.

In this economic environment, many of us have suffered at the hands of unscrupulous debt collectors. Of course there are those people who have abused debt, but by far, the reverse is true. Good luck.
 

Debtoboards, debtoboards, debtoboards… an aid to consumers’ debts? 
 Debtoboards, debtoboards, debtoboards… an aid to consumers’ experiencing challenges in paying their debts?

“Debtorboards is geared to help people use the laws as they are on the books as both a shield and a sword,” stated by Mr. Katz. He won $36,000 from his own court case in opposition to collection agencies. Will the debtoboards serve as a night in the shining armor for consumers having debts?

Of course, debt collectors are barely satisfied with the court case trend.

Chief executive of ACA International, Rozanne M. Andersen, stated she was “extremely concerned” about the raise in lawsuits, which she said cost her industry hundreds of millions of dollars a year. She said much of the raise was the effect of vague language in the Fair Debt Collection Act.


Debt collectors are obligated, for instance, to recognize themselves on a voice message left for a consumer, she said. But they are also outlawed from telling a third party — counting someone who might overhear a phone message — about a consumer’s debt.

As Stated by Ms. Andersen: “We are between a rock and a hard place.”

Ms. Andersen said she had little endurance for Web sites that encouraged consumers to frustrate debt collectors. Debtoboards might be a threat to some industries due to lawsuits that may be raised against them.

“We believe those types of Web sites are encouraging people to not take responsibility for just debt,” she added.



Steven Katz is a nightmare for the financial debt collector.
This may sound good than receiving a call from Financial debt collectors. I’ve even received calls from other people and let me tell you, people who are rude.

According to the New York Times, a man named Steven Katz is a debt collector, along with trainer against debt collectors for credit cards, “For years, he has been what he called the Steven Katz School of Bill Collector Education, also known as a “terrorist training camp for a credit.”

Mr. Katz, 58 years old, earned him a debt collector credit card that has experience on both sides of the spectrum. He is a financial debt collector and had ruined his credit score.

Mr. Katz has a website where if you need help with financial debt collectors, who are able to go to get this support.

The debtor is an online community website where you can get real help and analyze the real story.

Mr. Katz has won $ 36,000 on the verdict is against terrorist debt collectors. Mr. Katz site begins training camp, and later you could be in San Francisco at a cost of $ 2,495.00 to an individual. Not cheap, but neither is the credit card debt. Go to www.debtorboards.com for more information about how you can defend and not be abused. If you have an unsecured debt that is not safe, so you know what your legal rights and good luck.
 

Learning How to Fight the Collector
Among debt collectors, Steven Katz is known as a “credit terrorist.” For years, he has run what he calls the Steven Katz School of Bill Collector Education, otherwise known as the “credit terrorist training camp.”
 Mr. Katz, a 58-year-old accountant in suburban Tucson, spends his free time schooling debtors on the finer points of consumer protection law to help them turn the tables on debt collectors. On occasion, he thumbs his own nose at them too.

“How many times can I sue you? Let me count the ways,” he wrote under his pseudonym, Dr. Tax, in a March posting on Inside ARM, a debt collectors’ Web site.

A former bill collector himself, Mr. Katz rebelled after a debt buyer damaged his credit score with what he says was a bogus bill. Mr. Katz sued, and in 2003 he collected his first damage award, a $1,000 check that he now keeps framed behind his desk.

“The bill collectors, when they call, make you feel like the only option you have is to lay down and play dead. That’s not true,” said Mr. Katz said, who does not charge for his advice. “Nothing validates this more than getting a check.”

Call this movement revenge of the (alleged) deadbeats. Even as collectors try to recoup debts from millions of Americans struggling to pay their bills, a small but growing number of lawyers and consumers are fighting back against what they describe as harassment, unscrupulous practices — and, most important to their litigiousness, violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

In fact, 8,287 federal lawsuits were filed citing violations of the act in 2009, a 60 percent rise over the previous year, according to WebRecon, a site that tracks collection-related litigation and the most litigious consumers and lawyers on behalf of debt collectors.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court made it even easier for consumers to use the courts to fight debt collectors, ruling that collectors cannot be shielded from suits by claiming they made a mistake in interpreting the law.

When a consumer stops paying a bill, creditors often try to collect on their own for a few months. In many instances, the creditor hires another company to collect the debt. In other cases, they may dispose of the debt by selling it to a debt buyer for a steep discount.

Debt collectors and debt buyers are the targets of litigious consumers, since the debt collection law primarily applies to third-party collectors.

Peter Barry, a Minneapolis trial lawyer, is so bullish on the future of debt collection litigation that he holds several “boot camps” each year to share his secrets with other lawyers who want in on the action. If the debtor wins a court case under the act, the debt collector must pay the lawyer’s fees.

The next boot camp is being held in early May in San Francisco, at a cost of $2,495 a person for two and a half days of instruction.

“I can’t sue every illegal debt collector in America, although I’d like to try,” Mr. Barry said.

Mr. Katz can also claim some credit for the increase in lawsuits. For six years, he has run a free Web site called Debtorboards.com, where people share tips on topics like keeping a paper trail and recording calls from collectors.

He said the site received two million hits in 2009, a 60 percent increase over the previous year.

“Debtorboards is geared to help people use the laws as they are on the books as both a shield and a sword,” said Mr. Katz, who says he has won $36,000 from his own litigation against collection agencies. (Since many of the settlements are confidential, it is difficult to prove the claims of Mr. Katz and others).

Of course, debt collectors are hardly pleased with the litigation trend.

Rozanne M. Andersen, chief executive of ACA International, a trade association for the debt collection industry, said she was “extremely concerned” about the increase in lawsuits, which she said cost her industry hundreds of millions of dollars a year. She said much of the increase was the result of ambiguous language in the Fair Debt Collection Act.

Debt collectors are required, for example, to identify themselves on a voice message left for a consumer, she said. But they are also prohibited from telling a third party — including someone who might overhear a phone message — about a consumer’s debt.

“We are between a rock and a hard place,” Ms. Andersen said.

Ms. Andersen said she had little patience for Web sites that encouraged consumers to thwart debt collectors.

“We believe those types of Web sites are encouraging people to not take responsibility for just debt,” she said.



 

Debtorboards

What is Debtorboards? 
Debtorboards, operated by Simple Machines LLC, is a web forum where users or members can share tips on how to defend against debtors.

Debtorboards claims that up to date, debtorboards members have collected $388,151.12 from creditors and have beaten back lawsuits attempting to collect $335,197 from creditors.

Debtorboards covers all topics you can possibly think of regarding debt collection including credit basics, suing your creditors, laws and resources such as telephone consumer protection act, other federal statutes, rules, regulations and FTC opinions, case law, state laws, and all government agencies and organizations involved in credit and debt business such credit reporting agencies, original creditors, collectors and agencies, and consumer attorneys, bankruptcy, and the kindrox archive among others.

Debtorboards with 5886 members covers 8407 topics and 64550 posts.

This is a very informative information forum site. However, consumers may consider using their local attorneys to defend against wrongful debt collection.

For more information on Debtorboards, please visit the website at Debtorboards.com.

Some basic information for consumers

If you fail to pay bills, or a creditor mistakenly or deliberately make it appear that you do, a debt collector may be contacting you.

As a consumer, you are protected under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) enforced by the The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency. The law prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect from you.

Debt collectors can be collection agencies, lawyers and companies that buy delinquent debts and then try to collect them.

The Act covers personal, family, and household debts including money you owe on a personal credit card account, an auto loan, a medical bill,and your mortgage. The FDCPA doesn’t cover debts however you incurred to run a business.

You may want to talk to debt collectors at least once and then decide whether you want them to further contact you or not. If you decide not to see them again, put your thought in writing and send it to them in certified letters telling them you don't own the debt, or you can't repay it immediately. They will send you a letter specifying their action either telling you do not own the debt anymore, or they may tell you their further action like filing a lawsuit.

If you send the debt collector a letter stating that you don’t owe any or all of the money, or asking for verification of the debt, that collector must stop contacting you. You have to send that letter within 30 days after you receive the validation notice. But a collector can begin contacting you again if it sends you written verification of the debt, like a copy of a bill for the amount you owe.

Debtorboards And Coupon Mom Offer Help To Consumers Unlike Fraudulent Debt Settlement Companies

In these tough economic times it's very challenging to stay on top of the bills while paying down credit cards if you're an average working class citizen. For millions of Americans who are feeling the pinch of reduced hours at work, they turn to credit cards to help them through these tough times.

If you have a heavy credit card debt load and something goes wrong in your life it's easy to panic. Many turn to debt settlement companies, which are nothing more than parasites and vultures who prey upon the desperation of consumers trapped under the yoke of credit card debt.

If you are thinking about "working with" a debt settlment company prepare to be screwed...royally. They promise you that they'll get your debts settled for 30 cents on the dollar. However, there's one catch-you have to stop paying your creditors while you pay the debt settlement company each month. And, guess what? You have to "build up" the money in the account before they'll allegedly try to settle your debts.

For some people who are $20,000 in debt it may take three years or better to build up enough money in the debt settlment account before they can attempt to settle your debts. By that point you'll probably have been sued already and will have had your wages garnished. Thousands of people fall for the debt settlment scams and would be better of declaring bankruptcy especially considering there's no promise that a credit card company will negotiate. Then you're out all of that money and up the creek without a paddle.

Many of these debt settlment parasites try to associate themselves with President Obama's bailout programs, which is about as lowrent as it gets. Now that the bottom-feeding debt settlement companies are being exposed for fraud, hopefully Uncle Sam can outlaw this rotten industry. Senator Jay Rockefeller said he expressed "disdain and contempt" for practices that the Government Accountability Office found when they had investigators posing as consumers with debt problems contact twenty debt settlement companies.

For those who are under the gun from creditors there is somewhere for you to turn; Debtorboards.

Debtorboards.com is a community where they offer consumers ways to get back at the man so to speak.

Debtorboards educates troubled consumers with ways to defend themselves against the horrendous practices of debt collection agencies as well as ways to sue debt collectors. Face it, we all have a loved one or friend who has been in a tough situation and creditors use every tactic under the sun to try and get money out of them. Many of these people are buried under a mountain of debt, not by choice, but out of necessity. The cost of living in America has skyrocketed and many need to use credit cards just to put gas in their cars to get to work. Some need them to pay for medicine or even food for their families.

For those of you who aren't trapped in credit card debt hell, but looking to save a few bucks at the store, then Coupon Mom has some great tips for you. Coupon Mom's website at...well couponmom.com offers a plethora of printable grocery coupons. If you play your cards right you can save hundreds of dollars a year.

Stephanie Nelson, who is better known as Coupon Mom has a new book out called The Coupon Mom’s Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills In Half.

For consumers in good and bad situations, Couponmom.com is a great resource to save on your grocery bill.

Remember, if you're under a mountain of credit card debt your best options are to negotiate directly with credit card companies or to seek credit counseling. By no means, turn to a debt settlement company or your problems will multiply.

Debtorboards: Help for Debtors
What is a debtorboards? A debtor boards is a place to go online when you need help getting out of debt.

Steven Katz is a debt collector’s worst nightmare. Sound good? Than you’ve gotten a call from a debt collector. I’ve even gotten other people’s calls and let me tell you, they are the rudest of people.

According to the New York Times, a man named Steven Katz has been a bill collector and a trainer against debt collector, “For years, he has run what he calls the Steven Katz School of Bill Collector Education, otherwise known as the “’credit terrorist training camp.’”

Mr. Katz is 58 and won against the debt collector as he has experience from both ends of the spectrum. He has been a debt collector and had his credit score ruined.

Not knowing is the most dangerous thing you can do.

Mr. Katz has a website where if you need help with debt collectors, you can go and get that help.

Go to: www.debtorboards.com

Debtor boards is a website where someone can get real help and read real stories.

Mr. Katz has won $36,000 in judgments against terrorist debt collectors. Mr. Katz’s website runs a boot camp and the next one is in May in San Francisco at a cost of $2495.00 a person. It’s not cheap, but neither is debt. Go to www.debtorboards.com

for more information on how to fight back and not be bullied. If you have unsecured debt, it’s unsecured, so know what your legal rights are and good luck.

In this economic environment, many of us have suffered at the hands of unscrupulous debt collectors. Of course there are those people who have abused debt, but by far, the reverse is true. Good luck.
 

Debtoboards, debtoboards, debtoboards… an aid to consumers’ debts? 
 Debtoboards, debtoboards, debtoboards… an aid to consumers’ experiencing challenges in paying their debts?

“Debtorboards is geared to help people use the laws as they are on the books as both a shield and a sword,” stated by Mr. Katz. He won $36,000 from his own court case in opposition to collection agencies. Will the debtoboards serve as a night in the shining armor for consumers having debts?

Of course, debt collectors are barely satisfied with the court case trend.

Chief executive of ACA International, Rozanne M. Andersen, stated she was “extremely concerned” about the raise in lawsuits, which she said cost her industry hundreds of millions of dollars a year. She said much of the raise was the effect of vague language in the Fair Debt Collection Act.


Debt collectors are obligated, for instance, to recognize themselves on a voice message left for a consumer, she said. But they are also outlawed from telling a third party — counting someone who might overhear a phone message — about a consumer’s debt.

As Stated by Ms. Andersen: “We are between a rock and a hard place.”

Ms. Andersen said she had little endurance for Web sites that encouraged consumers to frustrate debt collectors. Debtoboards might be a threat to some industries due to lawsuits that may be raised against them.

“We believe those types of Web sites are encouraging people to not take responsibility for just debt,” she added.



Steven Katz is a nightmare for the financial debt collector.
This may sound good than receiving a call from Financial debt collectors. I’ve even received calls from other people and let me tell you, people who are rude.

According to the New York Times, a man named Steven Katz is a debt collector, along with trainer against debt collectors for credit cards, “For years, he has been what he called the Steven Katz School of Bill Collector Education, also known as a “terrorist training camp for a credit.”

Mr. Katz, 58 years old, earned him a debt collector credit card that has experience on both sides of the spectrum. He is a financial debt collector and had ruined his credit score.

Mr. Katz has a website where if you need help with financial debt collectors, who are able to go to get this support.

The debtor is an online community website where you can get real help and analyze the real story.

Mr. Katz has won $ 36,000 on the verdict is against terrorist debt collectors. Mr. Katz site begins training camp, and later you could be in San Francisco at a cost of $ 2,495.00 to an individual. Not cheap, but neither is the credit card debt. Go to www.debtorboards.com for more information about how you can defend and not be abused. If you have an unsecured debt that is not safe, so you know what your legal rights and good luck.
 

Learning How to Fight the Collector
Among debt collectors, Steven Katz is known as a “credit terrorist.” For years, he has run what he calls the Steven Katz School of Bill Collector Education, otherwise known as the “credit terrorist training camp.”
 Mr. Katz, a 58-year-old accountant in suburban Tucson, spends his free time schooling debtors on the finer points of consumer protection law to help them turn the tables on debt collectors. On occasion, he thumbs his own nose at them too.

“How many times can I sue you? Let me count the ways,” he wrote under his pseudonym, Dr. Tax, in a March posting on Inside ARM, a debt collectors’ Web site.

A former bill collector himself, Mr. Katz rebelled after a debt buyer damaged his credit score with what he says was a bogus bill. Mr. Katz sued, and in 2003 he collected his first damage award, a $1,000 check that he now keeps framed behind his desk.

“The bill collectors, when they call, make you feel like the only option you have is to lay down and play dead. That’s not true,” said Mr. Katz said, who does not charge for his advice. “Nothing validates this more than getting a check.”

Call this movement revenge of the (alleged) deadbeats. Even as collectors try to recoup debts from millions of Americans struggling to pay their bills, a small but growing number of lawyers and consumers are fighting back against what they describe as harassment, unscrupulous practices — and, most important to their litigiousness, violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

In fact, 8,287 federal lawsuits were filed citing violations of the act in 2009, a 60 percent rise over the previous year, according to WebRecon, a site that tracks collection-related litigation and the most litigious consumers and lawyers on behalf of debt collectors.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court made it even easier for consumers to use the courts to fight debt collectors, ruling that collectors cannot be shielded from suits by claiming they made a mistake in interpreting the law.

When a consumer stops paying a bill, creditors often try to collect on their own for a few months. In many instances, the creditor hires another company to collect the debt. In other cases, they may dispose of the debt by selling it to a debt buyer for a steep discount.

Debt collectors and debt buyers are the targets of litigious consumers, since the debt collection law primarily applies to third-party collectors.

Peter Barry, a Minneapolis trial lawyer, is so bullish on the future of debt collection litigation that he holds several “boot camps” each year to share his secrets with other lawyers who want in on the action. If the debtor wins a court case under the act, the debt collector must pay the lawyer’s fees.

The next boot camp is being held in early May in San Francisco, at a cost of $2,495 a person for two and a half days of instruction.

“I can’t sue every illegal debt collector in America, although I’d like to try,” Mr. Barry said.

Mr. Katz can also claim some credit for the increase in lawsuits. For six years, he has run a free Web site called Debtorboards.com, where people share tips on topics like keeping a paper trail and recording calls from collectors.

He said the site received two million hits in 2009, a 60 percent increase over the previous year.

“Debtorboards is geared to help people use the laws as they are on the books as both a shield and a sword,” said Mr. Katz, who says he has won $36,000 from his own litigation against collection agencies. (Since many of the settlements are confidential, it is difficult to prove the claims of Mr. Katz and others).

Of course, debt collectors are hardly pleased with the litigation trend.

Rozanne M. Andersen, chief executive of ACA International, a trade association for the debt collection industry, said she was “extremely concerned” about the increase in lawsuits, which she said cost her industry hundreds of millions of dollars a year. She said much of the increase was the result of ambiguous language in the Fair Debt Collection Act.

Debt collectors are required, for example, to identify themselves on a voice message left for a consumer, she said. But they are also prohibited from telling a third party — including someone who might overhear a phone message — about a consumer’s debt.

“We are between a rock and a hard place,” Ms. Andersen said.

Ms. Andersen said she had little patience for Web sites that encouraged consumers to thwart debt collectors.

“We believe those types of Web sites are encouraging people to not take responsibility for just debt,” she said.



 

Ron Burkle

Ron Burkle Donates $50,000 to Celebrity Apprentice


WASHINGTON (Politically Illustrated) – Ron Burkle donated a whopping $50,000 to Celebrity Apprentice Holly Robinson on Sunday night during a challenge to raise the most money to create a fitness class for 24 Hour Fitness.
The team Holly Robinson Peete was on raised a total of $200,000, more than any other non-finale show.

Sharon Osbourne’s team won $25,000 by developing the best gym class with a Rock N’ Roll class with VIP backstage passes allowing them to raise a total of $100,000.

Who did Donald Trump fire?

Nobody.

The money donated by Ron Buckle will go towards helping autistic children.




Three bidders vying to own Philadelphia Newspapers

Billionaire Ronald W. Burkle and a Canadian investment group emerged Friday as players in the forthcoming sale of Philadelphia Newspapers L.L.C., the parent company of The Inquirer.

Stern Partners Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia, was one of three bidders to make an offer for the company by the 5 p.m. deadline. Burkle, sources said, has committed funds to help a group of local investors, who also submitted a bid.

The third bid came from a coalition of the company's senior lenders, who are seeking to recoup as much of their $318 million debt as they can.

The involvement of Burkle came after he was contacted by Gov. Rendell at the request of Brian P. Tierney, the chief executive officer of the newspaper company, according to sources.

The local investor group includes William A. Graham, chief executive officer of Graham Co., a Philadelphia regional insurance broker; the Carpenters Union pension fund; and the philanthropist David Haas. Bruce Toll, vice chairman of homebuilder Toll Bros. Inc., is also said to be part of the group, but at a lower stake than he previously promised.

The three bids are now in the hands of the media company, which also owns the Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com. Company officers and their attorneys will evaluate them over the weekend to determine the "highest and best" offer at that point to serve as the floor for the auction. The auction will use the same "highest and best" standard to determine a winner Tuesday.

The company declined to provide any information about the bids other than saying there had been more than one.

Sources involved in the matter, however, confirmed the three bids and Burkle's commitment to the local investment group.

Stern Partners owns a controlling interest in the Winnipeg Free Press and the Brandon Sun, both in Manitoba, and seven community newspapers. It also owns two paper mills, a packaging firm, an apparel-maker, and a garden-products company, according to its Web site.

Ronald N. Stern, founder of the company, was among a Stern contingent that visited Philadelphia in January with an eye toward joining the bidding. Stern did not return a call for comment.

Burkle, through his Yucaipa Cos. L.L.C., a California-based holding company, was a late and an unexpected addition to the local investors who announced their intentions to try to buy the bankrupt company last summer.

A source familiar with the matter said the local investors still have an option to continue without Burkle's help if they conclude they have enough funds to purchase the company without him.

While Yucaipa had been among the firms that have reviewed Philadelphia Newspapers' finances as a prelude to bidding, it was assumed the holding company was considering its own bid - independent of the local investors.

Its decision to throw in with the local investors suggests that the group will offer a serious challenge to take control of the company.

According to sources, Burkle agreed to join the group after the intervention of Rendell, who reached out to Burkle on Thursday at the request of Tierney.

Burkle, who made a fortune buying and selling supermarket chains, has long had an interest in the company. He was one of its suitors four years ago before it was sold to a group led by Tierney. He is a former confidant of President Bill Clinton and a major donor to the Democratic Party.

Tierney and Rendell declined to discuss how Burkle came to be part of the investment group.

Frank Quintera, a principal with Yucaipa, said he could neither confirm nor deny Yucaipa's interest in the company.

On Thursday, Graham said the local group intended to submit a bid that would be similar to one that had been on the table but was withdrawn this week.

That bid offered $35 million in cash and a $17 million letter of credit for all of the company's assets except for its North Broad Street headquarters building.

The senior lenders, holders of the company's largest debt, had previously said through their attorneys that they intended to make a "robust cash bid" for the company.

Those creditors are Angelo, Gordon & Co., the CIT Syndicated Loan Group, Credit Suisse, Eaton Vance Management, General Electric Capital Corp. Inc., Halbis Distressed Opportunities Master Fund Ltd., McDonnell Investment Management L.L.C., and Venor Capital Master Fund L.L.C.

It was unclear if all of those lenders took part in the bid for the company. Fred S. Hodara, the lead attorney for the senior lenders, declined to discuss the lenders' bid in detail.

"It is a clean, all-cash bid that is significantly more valuable than the bid that was formerly known as the 'stalking horse,' " he said, referring to the local group's initial offering.

The bids were submitted to the company's financial adviser, Sonenshine Partners in New York City.

The company will review the bids in consultation with two sales monitors: retired federal Judge Arlin M. Adams and J. Scott Victor, an investment banker who specializes in distressed-debt situations.

The auction is to be held at the New York offices of Proskauer Rose, one of the company's two law firms.

The auction is central to the company's reorganization plan to emerge from bankruptcy. Money raised will go to the senior lenders to settle their debt.

The winner of the auction will still need to have the sale approved by Chief Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Raslavich at a confirmation hearing May 25.


Weinsteins, Burkle in exclusive Miramax talks: sources 


Hollywood producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein and their financial backer, billionaire Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Companies, have an exclusive negotiating window to negotiate buying Disney's Miramax Films division, three sources with knowledge of the situation said on Friday.

Deals

The Walt Disney Co was seeking about $700 million for Miramax, sources said earlier this week. The Weinsteins and Yucaipa are offering $625 million, the New York Times reported on Friday, for the shuttered studio with a library of more than 600 films, including "Pulp Fiction."

The window temporarily sidelines competing bidders, one of the sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity because the negotiations were not public. A Weinstein spokeswoman declined to comment, and officials with Disney did not return calls.

Film executive David Bergstein said he is advising construction magnate Ron Tutor and other investors who had offered $650 million.

Financiers Alec and Tom Gores are behind another offer and are being advised by their brother, Sam Gores, who heads the Paradigm Talent Agency.

The Gores offered $550 million, but a source said this week that they increased that bid, although it was unclear by how much.

Revelations that Disney was floating a sale of Miramax surfaced in media reports in January.

One source familiar with the deal said that Disney could close the sale next week, while another source said it could happen within the next two weeks.

A third source said the Weinsteins have an advantage in the auction, because they still control certain rights to titles in the library that had been made under their long stewardship of Miramax.

Bob and Harvey Weinstein founded Miramax in 1979 and sold it to Disney in 1993 for $80 million. The pair continued to run the company until they left in 2005 to form The Weinstein Co.

A source said that if the sale is complete, Yucaipa would own Miramax and the Weinsteins would manage it.


Three bidders vying to own Philadelphia Newspapers



Billionaire Ronald W. Burkle and a Canadian investment group emerged Friday as players in the forthcoming sale of Philadelphia Newspapers L.L.C., the parent company of The Inquirer.

Stern Partners Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia, was one of three bidders to make an offer for the company by the 5 p.m. deadline. Burkle, sources said, has committed funds to help a group of local investors, who also submitted a bid.

The third bid came from a coalition of the company's senior lenders, who are seeking to recoup as much of their $318 million debt as they can.

The involvement of Burkle came after he was contacted by Gov. Rendell at the request of Brian P. Tierney, the chief executive officer of the newspaper company, according to sources.

The local investor group includes William A. Graham, chief executive officer of Graham Co., a Philadelphia regional insurance broker; the Carpenters Union pension fund; and the philanthropist David Haas. Bruce Toll, vice chairman of homebuilder Toll Bros. Inc., is also said to be part of the group, but at a lower stake than he previously promised.

The three bids are now in the hands of the media company, which also owns the Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com. Company officers and their attorneys will evaluate them over the weekend to determine the "highest and best" offer at that point to serve as the floor for the auction. The auction will use the same "highest and best" standard to determine a winner Tuesday.

The company declined to provide any information about the bids other than saying there had been more than one.

Sources involved in the matter, however, confirmed the three bids and Burkle's commitment to the local investment group.

Stern Partners owns a controlling interest in the Winnipeg Free Press and the Brandon Sun, both in Manitoba, and seven community newspapers. It also owns two paper mills, a packaging firm, an apparel-maker, and a garden-products company, according to its Web site.

Ronald N. Stern, founder of the company, was among a Stern contingent that visited Philadelphia in January with an eye toward joining the bidding. Stern did not return a call for comment.

Burkle, through his Yucaipa Cos. L.L.C., a California-based holding company, was a late and an unexpected addition to the local investors who announced their intentions to try to buy the bankrupt company last summer.

A source familiar with the matter said the local investors still have an option to continue without Burkle's help if they conclude they have enough funds to purchase the company without him.

While Yucaipa had been among the firms that have reviewed Philadelphia Newspapers' finances as a prelude to bidding, it was assumed the holding company was considering its own bid - independent of the local investors.

Its decision to throw in with the local investors suggests that the group will offer a serious challenge to take control of the company.

According to sources, Burkle agreed to join the group after the intervention of Rendell, who reached out to Burkle on Thursday at the request of Tierney.

Burkle, who made a fortune buying and selling supermarket chains, has long had an interest in the company. He was one of its suitors four years ago before it was sold to a group led by Tierney. He is a former confidant of President Bill Clinton and a major donor to the Democratic Party.

Tierney and Rendell declined to discuss how Burkle came to be part of the investment group.

Frank Quintera, a principal with Yucaipa, said he could neither confirm nor deny Yucaipa's interest in the company.

On Thursday, Graham said the local group intended to submit a bid that would be similar to one that had been on the table but was withdrawn this week.

That bid offered $35 million in cash and a $17 million letter of credit for all of the company's assets except for its North Broad Street headquarters building.

The senior lenders, holders of the company's largest debt, had previously said through their attorneys that they intended to make a "robust cash bid" for the company.

Those creditors are Angelo, Gordon & Co., the CIT Syndicated Loan Group, Credit Suisse, Eaton Vance Management, General Electric Capital Corp. Inc., Halbis Distressed Opportunities Master Fund Ltd., McDonnell Investment Management L.L.C., and Venor Capital Master Fund L.L.C.

It was unclear if all of those lenders took part in the bid for the company. Fred S. Hodara, the lead attorney for the senior lenders, declined to discuss the lenders' bid in detail.

"It is a clean, all-cash bid that is significantly more valuable than the bid that was formerly known as the 'stalking horse,' " he said, referring to the local group's initial offering.

The bids were submitted to the company's financial adviser, Sonenshine Partners in New York City.

The company will review the bids in consultation with two sales monitors: retired federal Judge Arlin M. Adams and J. Scott Victor, an investment banker who specializes in distressed-debt situations.

The auction is to be held at the New York offices of Proskauer Rose, one of the company's two law firms.

The auction is central to the company's reorganization plan to emerge from bankruptcy. Money raised will go to the senior lenders to settle their debt.

The winner of the auction will still need to have the sale approved by Chief Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Raslavich at a confirmation hearing May 25.

Billionaire Burkle Joins Local Group as Three Bidders Emerge for Philly Newspapers

 

CHICAGO California billionaire Ronald Burkle -- who several times has made offers for big daily newspapers that never came to fruition -- is committed to help fund the local group bidding for The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News at Tuesday's auction.

The deadline for offers for the newspapers closed Friday with three bidders, according to published reports: the local group put together by Philadelphia Newspapers CEO Brian P. Tierney; the senior creditors of the company; and Stern Partners, the Vancouver, British Columbia-based group that owns a controlling stake in the Winnipeg Free Press and eight other papers.

An Inquirer report by staff writer Christopher K. Hepp said Burkle became involved after he was contacted by Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell at Tierney's request. The group -- which has adopted the slogan "Go Local" -- may go forward without funding from Burkle if they can raise sufficient money without him, Hepp wrote, citing an unnamed source.

The Inquirer reported the local group is bidding $35 million in cash and a $17 million letter of credit for the newspaper assets, excluding its headquarters building.
 


Miramax Update: Deadline Extended, Deal by Monday?
 

We hate to keep the suspense dragging, but it's the lawyers' fault - really.

As expected, The Walt Disney extended by five days the exclusive negotiating window it had granted to The Weinstein Company, Ron Burkle and their partners to close the deal to buy Miramax .

According to a knowledgeable individual, the hold-up is purely about working through the legal complications of the deal, poring through every document, every film project, and the due diligence on a deal this large.

As WaxWord has already reported, they have set the price at $625 million cash, but there are many, many details to complete.

Meanwhile, Philly.com is reporting that Burkle is also busy bidding on the Philadelphia Inquirier and Daily News. (Burkle among those bidding for Philly newspapers). He apparently got involved at the request of Governor Ed Rendell and Philadelphia Newspapers CEO Brian Tierney.


Back in Hollywood, the new Miramax window was for five days, and thus expires on Monday. My understanding is there will be no deal before that time.

But you might expect it first thing Monday.

Stay tuned.

 

3 enter bidding for newspapers


Three bidders - one expected, one reconstituted and the third something of a surprise - plunked down $3 million each yesterday to join a competition for ownership of the Daily News and Inquirer.

The expected bid came from the hedge funds, banks and other financial institutions that hold most of the newspapers' secured debt, with a face value of more than $300 million. The group is led by Angelo, Gordon & Co. of New York City.

The reconfigured group includes several local investors recruited by the newspapers' current chief executive officer, Brian P. Tierney, with major financing from a privately held California firm, The Yucaipa Cos. Yucaipa, run by supermarket billionaire Ron Burkle, stepped into the breach this week, after businessman Bruce Toll decided to reduce his investment in the venture. Burkle is a major Democratic Party donor and a friend to former President Bill Clinton, whom he named to Yucaipa's board of directors.

The third bidder was said to be Stern Partners Inc., of Vancouver, Canada, an investment firm that owns a controlling interest in the Winnipeg Free Press, the Brandon Sun and seven community newspapers. Its other holdings include paper mills, a packaging firm and a garden-products company.

Its founder, Ronald N. Stern, led a delegation to Philadelphia in January and met a cross-section of management and union leaders.

But the Canadian firm got little attention in recent months as the newspapers and their secured lenders fought a legal battle over whether the lenders could use their IOUs to bid for the company.

The U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals eventually ruled that the newspapers could prohibit the IOUs - a process known as credit-bidding - and require all-cash bids.

Tierney and others involved in the auction process, designed to bring the newspapers through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, said they were bound by a confidentiality agreement not to identify any of the potential bidders.

The financial credentials of each bidder are being evaluated this weekend by the newspapers' lawyers and financial advisers to determine their eligibility for a full-fledged auction scheduled for Tuesday in the Manhattan offices of the law firm Proskauer Rose LLP.

Two independent sale monitors - retired federal judge Arlin M. Adams and investment banker J. Scott Victor - are reviewing the process to ensure its fairness.

If all goes as scheduled and the resolution of the bankruptcy case is confirmed by Chief U. S. Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Raslavich, the ownership of the newspapers and their Web site, Philly.com, would change hands in late June or July.

Burkle had tried to buy the Philadelphia newspapers four years ago, but the Yucaipa firm was outbid by a group of local investors, organized by Tierney.

Now Yucaipa has teamed up with some of Tierney's original investors - Toll, insurance broker William A. Graham and the pension fund of the Metropolitan Carpenters Union - to go after the newspapers again. A new local investor, philanthropist David Haas is also involved.













Ron Burkle

Ron Burkle Donates $50,000 to Celebrity Apprentice


WASHINGTON (Politically Illustrated) – Ron Burkle donated a whopping $50,000 to Celebrity Apprentice Holly Robinson on Sunday night during a challenge to raise the most money to create a fitness class for 24 Hour Fitness.
The team Holly Robinson Peete was on raised a total of $200,000, more than any other non-finale show.

Sharon Osbourne’s team won $25,000 by developing the best gym class with a Rock N’ Roll class with VIP backstage passes allowing them to raise a total of $100,000.

Who did Donald Trump fire?

Nobody.

The money donated by Ron Buckle will go towards helping autistic children.




Three bidders vying to own Philadelphia Newspapers

Billionaire Ronald W. Burkle and a Canadian investment group emerged Friday as players in the forthcoming sale of Philadelphia Newspapers L.L.C., the parent company of The Inquirer.

Stern Partners Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia, was one of three bidders to make an offer for the company by the 5 p.m. deadline. Burkle, sources said, has committed funds to help a group of local investors, who also submitted a bid.

The third bid came from a coalition of the company's senior lenders, who are seeking to recoup as much of their $318 million debt as they can.

The involvement of Burkle came after he was contacted by Gov. Rendell at the request of Brian P. Tierney, the chief executive officer of the newspaper company, according to sources.

The local investor group includes William A. Graham, chief executive officer of Graham Co., a Philadelphia regional insurance broker; the Carpenters Union pension fund; and the philanthropist David Haas. Bruce Toll, vice chairman of homebuilder Toll Bros. Inc., is also said to be part of the group, but at a lower stake than he previously promised.

The three bids are now in the hands of the media company, which also owns the Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com. Company officers and their attorneys will evaluate them over the weekend to determine the "highest and best" offer at that point to serve as the floor for the auction. The auction will use the same "highest and best" standard to determine a winner Tuesday.

The company declined to provide any information about the bids other than saying there had been more than one.

Sources involved in the matter, however, confirmed the three bids and Burkle's commitment to the local investment group.

Stern Partners owns a controlling interest in the Winnipeg Free Press and the Brandon Sun, both in Manitoba, and seven community newspapers. It also owns two paper mills, a packaging firm, an apparel-maker, and a garden-products company, according to its Web site.

Ronald N. Stern, founder of the company, was among a Stern contingent that visited Philadelphia in January with an eye toward joining the bidding. Stern did not return a call for comment.

Burkle, through his Yucaipa Cos. L.L.C., a California-based holding company, was a late and an unexpected addition to the local investors who announced their intentions to try to buy the bankrupt company last summer.

A source familiar with the matter said the local investors still have an option to continue without Burkle's help if they conclude they have enough funds to purchase the company without him.

While Yucaipa had been among the firms that have reviewed Philadelphia Newspapers' finances as a prelude to bidding, it was assumed the holding company was considering its own bid - independent of the local investors.

Its decision to throw in with the local investors suggests that the group will offer a serious challenge to take control of the company.

According to sources, Burkle agreed to join the group after the intervention of Rendell, who reached out to Burkle on Thursday at the request of Tierney.

Burkle, who made a fortune buying and selling supermarket chains, has long had an interest in the company. He was one of its suitors four years ago before it was sold to a group led by Tierney. He is a former confidant of President Bill Clinton and a major donor to the Democratic Party.

Tierney and Rendell declined to discuss how Burkle came to be part of the investment group.

Frank Quintera, a principal with Yucaipa, said he could neither confirm nor deny Yucaipa's interest in the company.

On Thursday, Graham said the local group intended to submit a bid that would be similar to one that had been on the table but was withdrawn this week.

That bid offered $35 million in cash and a $17 million letter of credit for all of the company's assets except for its North Broad Street headquarters building.

The senior lenders, holders of the company's largest debt, had previously said through their attorneys that they intended to make a "robust cash bid" for the company.

Those creditors are Angelo, Gordon & Co., the CIT Syndicated Loan Group, Credit Suisse, Eaton Vance Management, General Electric Capital Corp. Inc., Halbis Distressed Opportunities Master Fund Ltd., McDonnell Investment Management L.L.C., and Venor Capital Master Fund L.L.C.

It was unclear if all of those lenders took part in the bid for the company. Fred S. Hodara, the lead attorney for the senior lenders, declined to discuss the lenders' bid in detail.

"It is a clean, all-cash bid that is significantly more valuable than the bid that was formerly known as the 'stalking horse,' " he said, referring to the local group's initial offering.

The bids were submitted to the company's financial adviser, Sonenshine Partners in New York City.

The company will review the bids in consultation with two sales monitors: retired federal Judge Arlin M. Adams and J. Scott Victor, an investment banker who specializes in distressed-debt situations.

The auction is to be held at the New York offices of Proskauer Rose, one of the company's two law firms.

The auction is central to the company's reorganization plan to emerge from bankruptcy. Money raised will go to the senior lenders to settle their debt.

The winner of the auction will still need to have the sale approved by Chief Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Raslavich at a confirmation hearing May 25.


Weinsteins, Burkle in exclusive Miramax talks: sources 


Hollywood producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein and their financial backer, billionaire Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Companies, have an exclusive negotiating window to negotiate buying Disney's Miramax Films division, three sources with knowledge of the situation said on Friday.

Deals

The Walt Disney Co was seeking about $700 million for Miramax, sources said earlier this week. The Weinsteins and Yucaipa are offering $625 million, the New York Times reported on Friday, for the shuttered studio with a library of more than 600 films, including "Pulp Fiction."

The window temporarily sidelines competing bidders, one of the sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity because the negotiations were not public. A Weinstein spokeswoman declined to comment, and officials with Disney did not return calls.

Film executive David Bergstein said he is advising construction magnate Ron Tutor and other investors who had offered $650 million.

Financiers Alec and Tom Gores are behind another offer and are being advised by their brother, Sam Gores, who heads the Paradigm Talent Agency.

The Gores offered $550 million, but a source said this week that they increased that bid, although it was unclear by how much.

Revelations that Disney was floating a sale of Miramax surfaced in media reports in January.

One source familiar with the deal said that Disney could close the sale next week, while another source said it could happen within the next two weeks.

A third source said the Weinsteins have an advantage in the auction, because they still control certain rights to titles in the library that had been made under their long stewardship of Miramax.

Bob and Harvey Weinstein founded Miramax in 1979 and sold it to Disney in 1993 for $80 million. The pair continued to run the company until they left in 2005 to form The Weinstein Co.

A source said that if the sale is complete, Yucaipa would own Miramax and the Weinsteins would manage it.


Three bidders vying to own Philadelphia Newspapers



Billionaire Ronald W. Burkle and a Canadian investment group emerged Friday as players in the forthcoming sale of Philadelphia Newspapers L.L.C., the parent company of The Inquirer.

Stern Partners Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia, was one of three bidders to make an offer for the company by the 5 p.m. deadline. Burkle, sources said, has committed funds to help a group of local investors, who also submitted a bid.

The third bid came from a coalition of the company's senior lenders, who are seeking to recoup as much of their $318 million debt as they can.

The involvement of Burkle came after he was contacted by Gov. Rendell at the request of Brian P. Tierney, the chief executive officer of the newspaper company, according to sources.

The local investor group includes William A. Graham, chief executive officer of Graham Co., a Philadelphia regional insurance broker; the Carpenters Union pension fund; and the philanthropist David Haas. Bruce Toll, vice chairman of homebuilder Toll Bros. Inc., is also said to be part of the group, but at a lower stake than he previously promised.

The three bids are now in the hands of the media company, which also owns the Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com. Company officers and their attorneys will evaluate them over the weekend to determine the "highest and best" offer at that point to serve as the floor for the auction. The auction will use the same "highest and best" standard to determine a winner Tuesday.

The company declined to provide any information about the bids other than saying there had been more than one.

Sources involved in the matter, however, confirmed the three bids and Burkle's commitment to the local investment group.

Stern Partners owns a controlling interest in the Winnipeg Free Press and the Brandon Sun, both in Manitoba, and seven community newspapers. It also owns two paper mills, a packaging firm, an apparel-maker, and a garden-products company, according to its Web site.

Ronald N. Stern, founder of the company, was among a Stern contingent that visited Philadelphia in January with an eye toward joining the bidding. Stern did not return a call for comment.

Burkle, through his Yucaipa Cos. L.L.C., a California-based holding company, was a late and an unexpected addition to the local investors who announced their intentions to try to buy the bankrupt company last summer.

A source familiar with the matter said the local investors still have an option to continue without Burkle's help if they conclude they have enough funds to purchase the company without him.

While Yucaipa had been among the firms that have reviewed Philadelphia Newspapers' finances as a prelude to bidding, it was assumed the holding company was considering its own bid - independent of the local investors.

Its decision to throw in with the local investors suggests that the group will offer a serious challenge to take control of the company.

According to sources, Burkle agreed to join the group after the intervention of Rendell, who reached out to Burkle on Thursday at the request of Tierney.

Burkle, who made a fortune buying and selling supermarket chains, has long had an interest in the company. He was one of its suitors four years ago before it was sold to a group led by Tierney. He is a former confidant of President Bill Clinton and a major donor to the Democratic Party.

Tierney and Rendell declined to discuss how Burkle came to be part of the investment group.

Frank Quintera, a principal with Yucaipa, said he could neither confirm nor deny Yucaipa's interest in the company.

On Thursday, Graham said the local group intended to submit a bid that would be similar to one that had been on the table but was withdrawn this week.

That bid offered $35 million in cash and a $17 million letter of credit for all of the company's assets except for its North Broad Street headquarters building.

The senior lenders, holders of the company's largest debt, had previously said through their attorneys that they intended to make a "robust cash bid" for the company.

Those creditors are Angelo, Gordon & Co., the CIT Syndicated Loan Group, Credit Suisse, Eaton Vance Management, General Electric Capital Corp. Inc., Halbis Distressed Opportunities Master Fund Ltd., McDonnell Investment Management L.L.C., and Venor Capital Master Fund L.L.C.

It was unclear if all of those lenders took part in the bid for the company. Fred S. Hodara, the lead attorney for the senior lenders, declined to discuss the lenders' bid in detail.

"It is a clean, all-cash bid that is significantly more valuable than the bid that was formerly known as the 'stalking horse,' " he said, referring to the local group's initial offering.

The bids were submitted to the company's financial adviser, Sonenshine Partners in New York City.

The company will review the bids in consultation with two sales monitors: retired federal Judge Arlin M. Adams and J. Scott Victor, an investment banker who specializes in distressed-debt situations.

The auction is to be held at the New York offices of Proskauer Rose, one of the company's two law firms.

The auction is central to the company's reorganization plan to emerge from bankruptcy. Money raised will go to the senior lenders to settle their debt.

The winner of the auction will still need to have the sale approved by Chief Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Raslavich at a confirmation hearing May 25.

Billionaire Burkle Joins Local Group as Three Bidders Emerge for Philly Newspapers

 

CHICAGO California billionaire Ronald Burkle -- who several times has made offers for big daily newspapers that never came to fruition -- is committed to help fund the local group bidding for The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News at Tuesday's auction.

The deadline for offers for the newspapers closed Friday with three bidders, according to published reports: the local group put together by Philadelphia Newspapers CEO Brian P. Tierney; the senior creditors of the company; and Stern Partners, the Vancouver, British Columbia-based group that owns a controlling stake in the Winnipeg Free Press and eight other papers.

An Inquirer report by staff writer Christopher K. Hepp said Burkle became involved after he was contacted by Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell at Tierney's request. The group -- which has adopted the slogan "Go Local" -- may go forward without funding from Burkle if they can raise sufficient money without him, Hepp wrote, citing an unnamed source.

The Inquirer reported the local group is bidding $35 million in cash and a $17 million letter of credit for the newspaper assets, excluding its headquarters building.
 


Miramax Update: Deadline Extended, Deal by Monday?
 

We hate to keep the suspense dragging, but it's the lawyers' fault - really.

As expected, The Walt Disney extended by five days the exclusive negotiating window it had granted to The Weinstein Company, Ron Burkle and their partners to close the deal to buy Miramax .

According to a knowledgeable individual, the hold-up is purely about working through the legal complications of the deal, poring through every document, every film project, and the due diligence on a deal this large.

As WaxWord has already reported, they have set the price at $625 million cash, but there are many, many details to complete.

Meanwhile, Philly.com is reporting that Burkle is also busy bidding on the Philadelphia Inquirier and Daily News. (Burkle among those bidding for Philly newspapers). He apparently got involved at the request of Governor Ed Rendell and Philadelphia Newspapers CEO Brian Tierney.


Back in Hollywood, the new Miramax window was for five days, and thus expires on Monday. My understanding is there will be no deal before that time.

But you might expect it first thing Monday.

Stay tuned.

 

3 enter bidding for newspapers


Three bidders - one expected, one reconstituted and the third something of a surprise - plunked down $3 million each yesterday to join a competition for ownership of the Daily News and Inquirer.

The expected bid came from the hedge funds, banks and other financial institutions that hold most of the newspapers' secured debt, with a face value of more than $300 million. The group is led by Angelo, Gordon & Co. of New York City.

The reconfigured group includes several local investors recruited by the newspapers' current chief executive officer, Brian P. Tierney, with major financing from a privately held California firm, The Yucaipa Cos. Yucaipa, run by supermarket billionaire Ron Burkle, stepped into the breach this week, after businessman Bruce Toll decided to reduce his investment in the venture. Burkle is a major Democratic Party donor and a friend to former President Bill Clinton, whom he named to Yucaipa's board of directors.

The third bidder was said to be Stern Partners Inc., of Vancouver, Canada, an investment firm that owns a controlling interest in the Winnipeg Free Press, the Brandon Sun and seven community newspapers. Its other holdings include paper mills, a packaging firm and a garden-products company.

Its founder, Ronald N. Stern, led a delegation to Philadelphia in January and met a cross-section of management and union leaders.

But the Canadian firm got little attention in recent months as the newspapers and their secured lenders fought a legal battle over whether the lenders could use their IOUs to bid for the company.

The U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals eventually ruled that the newspapers could prohibit the IOUs - a process known as credit-bidding - and require all-cash bids.

Tierney and others involved in the auction process, designed to bring the newspapers through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, said they were bound by a confidentiality agreement not to identify any of the potential bidders.

The financial credentials of each bidder are being evaluated this weekend by the newspapers' lawyers and financial advisers to determine their eligibility for a full-fledged auction scheduled for Tuesday in the Manhattan offices of the law firm Proskauer Rose LLP.

Two independent sale monitors - retired federal judge Arlin M. Adams and investment banker J. Scott Victor - are reviewing the process to ensure its fairness.

If all goes as scheduled and the resolution of the bankruptcy case is confirmed by Chief U. S. Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Raslavich, the ownership of the newspapers and their Web site, Philly.com, would change hands in late June or July.

Burkle had tried to buy the Philadelphia newspapers four years ago, but the Yucaipa firm was outbid by a group of local investors, organized by Tierney.

Now Yucaipa has teamed up with some of Tierney's original investors - Toll, insurance broker William A. Graham and the pension fund of the Metropolitan Carpenters Union - to go after the newspapers again. A new local investor, philanthropist David Haas is also involved.