Salon Strikes Deal on Rent With Landlord

Online magazine publisher Salon Media Group Inc. on Monday disclosed that it has renegotiated its headquarters lease after getting sued for falling behind on its rent.

The San Francisco-based company struck a deal with its landlord late last week that will reduce its monthly rent from $70,000 to $21,000, according to documents filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

As part of the deal, Salon will forfeit a $400,000 deposit and rent just one floor of offices instead of the two floors covered in its previous lease. The landlord had been seeking $300,000 in damages, Salon said.

The lower rent still might not be enough to give Salon a new lease on life.

Since its 1995 inception, Salon has piled up losses totaling $82.3 million, including a $5.7-million deficit in its most recent fiscal year ended March 31.

To boost revenue, Salon has been charging people to read its once-free online magazine. Salon had 62,000 subscribers as of March 31.