Tiger Oak Media, publisher of Seattle Business, files for bankruptcy

Tiger Oak Media, publisher of Seattle Business magazine and more than 20 other specialty magazines, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to reports.

The company, based in downtown Minneapolis, indicated in its bankruptcy filing on Monday that it has assets of up to $50,000 and owes at least 200 creditors between $1 million and $10 million.

Its full financial schedules have yet to be filed, although specific claims add up to more than $2 million.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows companies to reorganize while shielded from the claims of their creditors.

Tiger Oak, which also has an office in Seattle, publishes magazines geared to the bridal, business meetings and events markets, according to its website. Tiger Oak shut down its Minnesota Business magazine late last year.

The company employs 86 people, said a filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota.

Tiger Oak’s largest creditor appears to be Fargo-based Choice Financial, which is owed at least $1.4 million, the bankruptcy filing says. The publisher’s assets are subject to a security interest and lien in favor of Choice.

Tiger Oak also owes Ohio-based Hess Print Solutions $822,939, though that unsecured claim is listed as disputed.

CEO Craig Bednar, who founded Tiger Oak in 1992 with the launch of Minnesota Bride magazine, said operations will carry on as usual while the company attempts to use Chapter 11 protection to restructure its debts and lower costs, and that its portfolio of titles—which also includes Seattle magazine, Wisconsin Bride and California Wedding Day, among numerous others—will continue to publish both in print and online.

“Our intention is to give Tiger Oak Media a fresh start and overcome the financial concerns that have unfortunately persisted for the past couple of years,” said Bednar in a statement.