Reader’s Digest to file for bankruptcy protection

The publisher of Reader’s Digest,the country’s most popular general interest magazine,said Monday it will file for Chapter 11 protection with a plan to swap a portion of its debt for ownership of the company.

Reader’s Digest Association Inc.,owned by the New York private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings since 2007,said Monday it has reached an agreement in principle with a majority of secured lenders to erase a portion of the $1.6 billion they hold in senior secured notes. The lenders will get ownership in return. The planned filing,which does not include operations outside the United States,comes amid declining circulation,an industrywide advertising slump and large debts. Reader’s Digest,the monthly magazine founded in 1922 as a collection of condensed articles from other publications,has been searching for a niche as the Internet upends the magazine industry’s traditional business models. This year’s ad declines saw the closing of several high-profile titles including Conde Nast’s Portfolio,Domino and Blender.