UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 8-K

 

 

CURRENT REPORT

 

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):  June 30, 2009

 

_______________________________________________________________________

LEE ENTERPRISES, INCORPORATED

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 

_______________________________________________________________________

 

Commission File Number 1-6227

 

 

 

201 N. Harrison Street, Davenport, Iowa 52801

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

 

(563) 383-2100

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

 

 

On June 30, 2009, Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (the “Company”) issued a news release indicating its Board of Directors has decided not to effect a reverse stock split. A copy of the news release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by this reference.

 

This information shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

 

 

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

 

 

 2

INDEX TO EXHIBITS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 99.1 - News Release of Lee Enterprises, Incorporated dated June 30, 2009

 

 

NEWS RELEASE

Lee Enterprises decides against reverse stock split  

 

DAVENPORT, Iowa (June 30, 2009) — The Board of Directors of Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NYSE: LEE), has elected not to effect a reverse stock split. At the annual meeting in March, shareholders had granted the board discretionary authority until June 30 to decide whether to do so.

 

Mary Junck, chairman and chief executive officer, said the board considered current market conditions, business forecasts and other factors that could affect shareholder value, including the prospect of remaining in compliance with New York Stock Exchange rules for continued listing.

 

The NYSE notified Lee in December 2008 that the company was not in compliance with the NYSE’s continued listing standard of at least $1.00 for the average closing price per share of its publicly traded common shares over a consecutive 30-trading day period.  Since then, the NYSE announced that the standard has been temporarily suspended through July 31, 2009.  As a result, Lee currently has until December 3, 2009, to return to compliance. 

 

“Despite recent volatility in Lee’s share price, owing in part to index rebalancing, we believe our long-term prospects remain strong and will become apparent to more investors as the recession begins to recede,” Junck said. “We believe our recent debt refinancing has given us ample flexibility to manage through the downturn.”

 

She added: “Our newspapers and their websites continue to reach, by far, the vast majority of adults in our markets, with growing strength across all age groups. We remain, hands down, the leading provider of local news, information and advertising in our markets. As the recession drags on, we are staying focused on building further on these strengths and increasing our lion’s share of local advertising spending.”

 

Lee Enterprises is a premier provider of local news, information and advertising in primarily midsize markets, with 49 daily newspapers and a joint interest in four others, online sites and more than 300 specialty publications in 23 states. Lee’s newspapers have circulation of 1.5 million daily and 1.8 million Sunday, reaching four million readers daily. Lee’s online sites attract 14 million unique visits monthly, and Lee’s weekly publications have distribution of more than four million households. Lee’s markets include St. Louis, Mo.; Lincoln, Neb.; Madison, Wis.; Davenport, Iowa; Billings, Mont.; Bloomington, Ill.; and Tucson, Ariz. Lee stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LEE. For more information about Lee, please visit www.lee.net.

 

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS — The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a “safe harbor” for forward-looking statements. This release contains information that may be deemed forward-looking, that is based largely on the Company’s current expectations, and is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Among such risks, trends and other uncertainties, which in some instances are beyond its control, are the Company’s ability to generate cash flows and maintain liquidity sufficient to service its debt, and comply with or obtain amendments or waivers of the financial covenants contained in its credit facilities, if necessary. Other risks and uncertainties include the impact of continuing adverse economic conditions, potential changes in advertising demand, newsprint and other commodity prices, energy costs, interest rates and the availability of credit due to instability in the credit markets, labor costs, legislative and regulatory rulings and other results of operations or financial conditions, difficulties in maintaining employee and customer relationships, increased capital and other costs, competition and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s publicly filed documents, including

 

 

 

the Company Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 28, 2008. The words “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “considers” and similar expressions generally identify forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are made as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements.

 

Contact: dan.hayes@lee.net, (563) 383-2100