To reduce its debt, McClatchy Co. has sold an advertising network for local newspaper sites to online ad-buying software provider Centro, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

The purchase of the Real Cities network was completed Tuesday. However, financial terms were not disclosed, according to a statement from Centro.

Chicago-based Centro offers local online media planning and purchasing software for ad agencies, and has access to an ad network of more than 1,500 local newspaper affiliate sites, Bloomberg reported.

This deal may help McClatchy to reduce its debt from US$2.1 billion to $2 billion by the end of this year. The company is cutting about 10 percent of its staffers to curb a plummet in advertising revenue.

Last month, Standard & Poor's lowered the company's rating to B+, and said the publisher may be forced to amend its debt covenants, according to Bloomberg. McClatchy replied that it would seek an amendment if needed.

McClatchy shares rose 14 cents to $4.04 early morning on Thursday on New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Its shares had declined 69 percent this year before Thursday.