McClatchy extends closing date on Miami land deal, will evaluate value on balance sheet

McClatchy extends closing date on land deal

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The McClatchy Co., publisher of The Miami Herald and other newspapers, said Wednesday that it has given the prospective buyer of land it owns in Miami more time to find financing in exchange for a $6 million deposit.

The buyer, Citisquare Group LLC, now has until Jan. 31, 2011, to close the deal for 10 acres next to the Miami Herald building in Biscayne Bay.

The closing originally was expected by the end of 2008, when the land was valued at $190 million.

Sacramento, Calif.-based McClatchy noted Wednesday that, given the challenging credit markets and the decline in the commercial real estate market in Miami, it would re-evaluate the value of the land on its balance sheet.

McClatchy will announce the results when it reports its fourth-quarter earnings Jan. 27.

McClatchy is the nation’s third-largest newspaper publisher and, like many of its peers, it has been struggling financially because of the economic downturn and long-term decline in print circulation.

McClatchy shares fell 7 cents, or 1.3 percent, to close at $5.27 Wednesday before the company announced the newest extension.