Midway's debt is more than $70 million

Some news reports, including mine at first, have reported that Midway's new owner Mark Thomas is taking on $70 million in debt. But in fact that's not the whole the story.

Midway owes $70 million to National Amusements (NAI), Sumner Redstone's investment vehicle (also a theatrical chain) through which he owned some of his stake in the "Mortal Kombat" publisher. But along with an 87% stake in Midway, Mark Thomas is also getting control of those loans. So if that debt ever gets paid back (not likely), it will go to him, not NAI.

Why is it unlikely? Well Midway has other, more pressing debts. Most notably, a $79 million convertible note due in April, as well as tens of million in long-term debt. That isn't off of Midway's books, as far as I know. So the real total is over $150 million. With very little cash on hand, red ink continuing to bleed and debt payments coming due, Thomas will still have to figure out how Midway is going to fix its books and stay in business.

(This post was edited after I re-examined some SEC docs as prompted by commenter Banker Bob)