A hedge fund that has a large stake in Tribune Publishing Co.
Tipico 0.31%
According to people familiar with the matter, the Chicago Tribune and the New York Daily News are seeking to buy the newspaper chain behind the headlines.
Alden Global Capital LLC, which is already the Tribune’s largest shareholder with a 32% stake, could announce an offer for the company as early as Thursday, people said. Possible bid details could not be learned.
The Tribune’s market value is approximately 47 0,470 million after many years of slides due to the flurry of prospects in local newspapers. Its shares have changed slightly this year and closed at .7 12.79 on Wednesday.
The sharp decline in revenue over the last 20 years will have a far-reaching impact on the trading industry, leading to a reduction in consolidation and costs. Between 2008 and 2019, the industry lost 51% of its newsroom jobs, according to the Pew Research Center.
The Tribune Publishing publishes daily papers from nine major markets, including Baltimore Sun, Orlando Sentinel and Hartford Currant, one of the largest newspaper chains in the country by circulation.
Alden controls Media News Group, a private company that owns about 60 daily newspapers across the country, including the Denver Post, San Jose Mercury News and the Orange County Register. Hedge funds have a reputation for making cost cuts on the titles they receive.
In July, Alden cemented a strong position on the Tribune board, occupying a third of seven seats in exchange for an agreement to increase its stake in the hedge fund or to advance a standing agreement suspended after June 2021. .
As a result, any deal to increase stakes would likely require a significant portion of the shareholders associated with Synoff or Alden from the Tribune. The company’s second largest shareholder, with about 25%, is Patrick Sun-Shiong, a billionaire biotech investor who bought the Los Angeles Times from The Tribune in 2018 for 500 million.
As businesses are reeling from the economic impact of the coronavirus epidemic, the Tribune has fired dozens of journalists and shut down many of its newsrooms to cover real estate costs. In early December, the Tribune agreed to sell its e-commerce business, Best Reviews, to Nexstar Media Group Inc.
million to 160 million.
Write to Cara Lombardo at [email protected], Dana Similuka at [email protected] and Lucas I. Alpert at [email protected]
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The December 31, 2020 edition of ‘Fund Fully by Tree Tribune Chain’ was published in December, 2020.
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