Reader's Digest Association, owned by the New York private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings since 2007, said it has reached an agreement with lenders to swap a portion of its debt in exchange for ownership of the company.
Readers Digest Australia managing director Walter Beyleveldt said local operations would not be impacted by the move.
"Our Australian business continues to be healthy and profitable and is unaffected by any financial restructuring taking place in the US," Beyleveldt said.
"In Australia, Reader's Digest remains the second highest circulating monthly magazine in the country."
The US edition will also continue to be published, with chief executive Mary Berner claiming that there is "no anticipated effect on our employees, our freelancers, our vendors or our business partners".
However, with the iconic pocket-sized magazine believed to have the world's largest readership, the move represents more bad news for an industry already rocked by the closure of veteran print publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Circulation at Reader's Digest has been declining steadily over the past year, with the magazine also struggling to cope with an industry-wide advertising slump and a $US2.2 billion debt.