FINANCIAL WATCH 1999-03-29

PENN TRAFFIC CO., Syracuse, N.Y., said last week a hearing to convert an interim debtor-in-possession credit facility into a permanent loan has been postponed until next Monday. The hearing, set for March 24 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, was scheduled to approve an increase in the company's interim DIP loan of $240 million to a permanent loan of $300 million, a chain spokesman said. He said last week's adjournment without any action being taken was not unusual in bankruptcy proceedings. Penn Traffic filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this month in a prenegotiated Chapter 11 filing; it said it expects to emerge in a few months.

The company predicts it will double its customer base by the end of 1999, according to Tim Guen, ShopLink's vice president of marketing and category development.