Tribune Publishing Co., the owner of the Chicago Tribune and New York Daily News, agreed to be acquired by Alden Global Capital LLC for about $430 million, putting a hedge fund known for firing journalists atop one of the nation’s largest newspaper companies.
Alden, which already holds a 32% stake in Tribune, agreed to pay $17.25 a share for the stock it doesn’t already own, according to a statement Tuesday. The investment group inquired about an acquisition at $14.25 a share in a letter sent to Tribune’s board in December.
Shares of Tribune weren’t available for trading after hours in New York. The price was 8% above Tuesday’s close of $15.97.
The loss of readers and advertisers to online media has delivered many newspaper into the hands of new owners — from hedge funds like Alden to benefactors like billionaire Jeff Bezos, who owns the Washington Post.
Alden bought a stake in Tribune a little over a year ago. The hedge fund, through its backing of MNG Enterprises Inc., also tried to acquire Gannett Co. in 2019 but lost out to New Media Investment Group Inc., which promised less-severe job cuts.
Staffers at Tribune have worried that Alden’s involvement with the company might mean more newsroom cuts, especially with the pandemic triggering a decline in ad spending. The New York Daily News permanently closed its Manhattan office in August.
In January 2020, two Chicago Tribune reporters wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times calling for “a civic-minded local owner or group of owners” and saying Alden’s cost-cutting could lead to “a ghost version of the Chicago Tribune.” Tribune’s other big-city properties include papers in Baltimore and Orlando, Florida.
Though Alden last year extended a standstill agreement for its Tribune stake until June 2021, the pact allowed the hedge fund to buy more shares under certain conditions — including rival acquisition approaches. Alden said in its December letter that real estate investor Stewart Bainum Jr., chairman of Choice Hotels International Inc., expressed interest in buying some Tribune assets.