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Atlanta Paper Targets Tampa

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By MICHAEL SASSO

msasso@tampatrib.com

Published: February 6, 2009

TAMPA - With Creative Loafing stuck in bankruptcy, a rival Atlanta weekly newspaper is pushing into the Tampa market, planning a local expansion and hoping to buy the six-newspaper Creative Loafing chain out of bankruptcy court.

The Sunday Paper Publishing has bid $13.3 million to buy Creative Loafing. If its offer is accepted, the company might choose to maintain Creative Loafing in Tampa as well as launch a Tampa edition of The Sunday Paper. Or it may publish just one paper, said Patrick Best, the publisher.

The company would have to make the same decision in Creative Loafing's other markets in Sarasota, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington and Charlotte, N.C. Even if its offer is rejected, The Sunday Paper still plans to open a rival weekly newspaper in Tampa, hopefully by year's end, Best said.

Its plans may seem foolhardy given the troubles in the newspaper industry, but Best said he sees an opportunity to target the young adult market.

"I think there's always a market for good journalism," said Best, who was an advertising director for Creative Loafing in Atlanta several years ago.

The Sunday Paper is a free Atlanta weekly with a circulation of about 50,000, Best said. Its name comes from its reliance on long-form journalism and lifestyle articles. Its politics tend to be more middle-of-the-road than Creative Loafing, which skews progressive, and it eschews adult entertainment ads, Best said.

The company supplements its income with a Web site called Half Off Depot, www.halfoff depot.com, which offers gift cards to Atlanta-area merchants.

Attorneys for Creative Loafing, Chad Bowen and David Jennis, said the company is considering the offer. So far, it appears to be less of a firm offer and more of an invitation to negotiate, Jennis said.

According to court records, Creative Loafing has significant debt, including $30 million owed to a private equity firm called Atalaya Administrative LLC. Atalaya is trying to foreclose on Creative Loafing's assets in bankruptcy court.

Reporter Michael Sasso can be reached at (813) 259-7865.

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