A hedging fund that holds a large stake in Tribune Publishing Co.
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looking to buy the newspaper chain behind headlines, including the Chicago Tribune and the New York Daily News, according to people familiar with the matter.
Alden Global Capital LLC, which is already the largest shareholder in Tribune, with a 32% stake, could unveil an offer for the company as soon as Thursday, people said. The details of the potential offer could not be found.
Tribune has a market value of about $ 470 million, after a long period of years, as the prospects of local newspapers diminish. Its shares have changed slightly this year and closed at $ 12.79 on Wednesday.
An agreement would have far-reaching implications for an industry affected by sharp declining revenues over the past 20 years, which have led to a wave of consolidation and cost reductions. Between 2008 and 2019, the industry lost 51 percent of its newsrooms, according to the Pew Research Center.
Tribune Publishing, one of the largest post-broadcast newspaper chains in the country, publishes nine major daily newspapers, including the Baltimore Sun, Orlando Sentinel and Hartford Courant.
Alden controls MediaNews Group, a private company that owns about 60 newspapers a day across the country, including Denver Post, San Jose Mercury News and the Orange County Register. The hedge fund has a reputation for significantly reducing the costs of the securities it acquires.
In July, Alden strengthened a stronger position on the Tribune’s board of directors by taking control of a third of seven seats in exchange for an agreement to extend a blocking agreement that would prevent the hedge fund from increasing its stake or bidding. hostile until after June 2021.
Consequently, any transaction to increase the package would probably require the signing of the Tribune or a significant part of the shareholders not affiliated with Alden. The company’s second largest shareholder, with about 25%, is Patrick Soon-Shiong, a billionaire investor in biotechnology who in 2018 bought the Los Angeles Times from the Tribune for 500 million dollars.
As the industry moves away from the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Tribune fired dozens of reporters and shut down many of its newsrooms to save on real estate costs. In early December, Tribune agreed to sell its e-commerce business, Best Reviews, to Nexstar Media Group. Inc.
for $ 160 million.
Write to Cara Lombardo at [email protected], Dana Cimilluca at [email protected] and Lukas I. Alpert at [email protected]
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It appeared in the print edition of December 31, 2020 that “The Fund seeks to completely buy the grandstand chain.”