Updated: RDA Nears End of Bankruptcy

A judge Jan. 15 approved Reader’s Digest Association’s restructuring plan, paving the way for the publisher to emerge from bankruptcy by Jan. 31.
 
The publisher of Reader’s Digest and Every Day with Rachael Ray, burdened by debt from its 2007 takeover by Ripplewood Holdings, filed a prepackaged bankruptcy plan with new lenders in August that would cut its debt to $550 million from $2.2 billion.
 
Its turnaround plans hampered by the recession, RDA has been forced to slash headcount, cut Reader’s Digest’s rate base and move to trade its historic Westchester headquarters for offices in Midtown New York.
 
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