Quebecor World may have no choice but to be sold, say analysts

The giant multinational printing arm of Quebecor Inc., Quebecor World, may not have any choice but to put itself up for sale, according to unnamed analysts quoted in a wire story by Reuters. (You can read some of the lamentable background in earlier posts here and here.)

The company said this week its lenders have effectively given it until mid-month to come up with $125 million of new financing and until the end of June to repay its current credit facility in full and terminate its North American securitization program.

Analysts estimate the credit facility and securitization program together represent about $900 million.

But given that prospective lenders have turned off the taps of easy debt amid the credit crunch, raising such an amount promises to be difficult.

"I think your best option is to sell the company," said one analyst on Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Barring that, I'd be very surprised if they can pull it off."

The company, which has 28,000 employees worldwide, saw its stock plummet to $1.49 today (last February it was $17.25). No suggestions are being made of what price the company would fetch if it went to market; likely it would be broken up and cherry-picked by major competitors such as R. R. Donnelly and Transcontinental Inc.