A Maryland hotel mogul and a Swiss billionaire have made an offer to Tribune Publishing Co., which expects the newspaper chain to favor a takeover deal it has already concluded with hedge fund Alden Global Capital LLC.
A special committee of the Tribune’s board of directors has determined that an offer of about $ 680 million, $ 18.50 per share, made late last week by the chairman of Choice Hotels International Inc., Stewart Bainum and Hansjörg Wyss, a proposal that is superior to Alden’s, $ 635. millions of businesses, said people familiar with the matter. This is a legal agreement that indicates that Alden will probably have to increase its offer or risk losing its business.
The decision came after the two men indicated they plan to personally contribute more than $ 600 million together, compared to a previous total of $ 200 million, people said.
Now that the group has submitted a fully funded offer, it will have access to private financial data to carry out due diligence and negotiate other conditions, a big step towards finalizing an agreement that could replace Alden, they said. There is no guarantee that the group will be able to do this and it is still possible to change its offer or leave after analyzing the company’s finances.
If Alden loses business, it would mark an astonishing 11-hour change for the New York hedge fund and a major victory for critics who say its aggressive cost-cutting model has affected the local news industry. Alden spent nearly a year and a half positioning himself to take over the Tribune, the publisher of nine major market dailies, including the Chicago Tribune, the New York Daily News and the Baltimore Sun.