Jan 16, 2009. /Lesprom.com/. Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation, North America's second largest containerboard and box producer, is reportedly close to a possible filing for bankruptcy, Lesprom Network informed according to the Wall Street Journal. The current market downturn has caught Smurfit-Stone in a severe financial position. According to media reports, the company has almost $3.6 billion in debt in comparison with annual sales of around $7.4 billion. Smurfit-Stone has about $316 million in debt payment due this year. According to the Wall Street Journal, Smurfit-Stona has hired bankruptcy counsel and financial advisers in an effort to arrange about $750 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing. DIP financing allows a company to operate while under reorganization, but it has become more difficult to arrange in the current credit squeeze. If Smurfit-Stone can secure the financing, a Chapter 11 filing could come within two weeks, the Wall Street journal writes. In a meeting company executives told lenders that the company was doing what it needs "for a coordinated, controlled bankruptcy filing and reorganization," a contact told the Wall Street Journal.