(Corrects hiring date of CEO in ninth paragraph in story originally published Dec.8.)

Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Equity Media Holdings Corp., the operator of English- and Spanish-language television stations in 41 U.S. cities, sought bankruptcy protection after defaulting on a $41.5 million loan.

The company, an affiliate of Univision Communications Inc., listed assets of more than $100 million and debt of more than $50 million on a Chapter 11 petition filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Little Rock, Arkansas, where it’s based.

Univision, the New York-based Spanish-language media company, owns 8 percent of Equity Media, according to the bankrupt company’s Web site. Equity Media said its October 2005 initial public offering raised $69 million.

Equity Media’s loan, arranged by Silver Point Finance LLC and collateral agent Wells Fargo & Co., was canceled by the lenders in November, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Silver Point said it tried to have a receiver appointed to manage the company.

Equity Media fell 1 cent to 7 cents in Nasdaq Stock Market trading at 4:30 p.m. The shares, which reached a high for the year of $3.45 in March, have fallen 98 percent this year.

In August 2007, Equity Media agreed to buy three low-power outlets in New York from Renard Communications for about $8 million to gain access to a new market. Previously known by the name of its subsidiary, Equity Broadcasting, the company agreed to pay $6 million in cash and the rest over two years, according to a statement at the time.

New Stations

Equity Media, which carries network programming and produces content, was founded in 1998 and reaches 32 percent of the U.S. population, according to its site. The majority of its stations started during the past three years, it said.

In August, Nasdaq informed Equity Media it was in danger of being delisted because the value of Equity Media’s securities had fallen to $17.9 million and because the company had lost money from 2005 to 2007, according to a company statement.

John Oxendine, Equity Media’s chief executive officer since June, has invested mostly in minority-owned broadcast businesses for more than 20 years, according to the company’s Web site.

Robert Becker, an Equity Media spokesman, didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.

The case is In re Equity Media Holdings Corp, 4:08-bk-17646, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Arkansas (Little Rock).

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Larson in New York at elarson4@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Rovella at poster@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 9, 2008 17:13 EST