Jobson Medical Information Holdings filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York Thursday, the company said, part of an effort to amend and extend its credit and strengthen its balance sheet

The closely held company, which is backed by private equity firm Wicks Group, said lenders have already approved its plan and that it expects to emerge from the “pre-packaged” Chapter 11 process in about 30 to 40 days.

“This credit agreement will provide us with the flexibility needed to continue our growth,” said Jeff MacDonald, CEO of Jobson Medical Information Holdings. “JMIH is a very strong and profitable business and will continue to operate.”

In 2005 Jobson Medical Information Holdings bought medical imprint Jobson Publishing for an undisclosed sum. Titles include US Pharmacist20/20 and Review of Optometry. Shortly after, it scooped up med-ed firm DesignWrite. JMIH also controls accredited CME provider Postgraduate Institute for Medicine, as well as information services /alert Marketing and Frames Data.

According to a Bloomberg report, JMIH listed assets and debt of as much as $500 million each in its chapter 11 petition, and 16 affiliates also sought court protection.

The company is one of several B2B magazine operators that have refinanced their debt over the last year-and-a-half due to a challenging market, including Hanley Wood (2012), Summit Business Media (2011) and Penton Media (2010).

“Jobson has an excellent stable of assets, and with the economic downturn and the impact upon them, [it] just made their balance sheet untenable,” said Roland DeSilva, managing partner of media banker DeSilva+Phillips.