Show an ad over header. AMP

I am the FIRST!!!

Alden Global Capital to buy Tribune in $630 million deal

Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund known for cutting journalists at local papers to maximize profits, is buying out the remainder of Tribune Publishing, the parent company to the Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News and other local papers.

Driving the news: With the sale, the two companies also announced that The Baltimore Sun would be acquired by a nonprofit backed by a Maryland-based hotel billionaire.


Why it matters: The deal creates one of the largest local publishing giants in America. Alden already owns hundreds of papers through its majority ownership of MNG (MediaNews Group) Enterprises, known commonly as Digital First Media, which controls papers like the Denver Post and the Boston Herald.

Details: The deal gives Alden 68% of the shares it doesn't already own in the Tribune for roughly $431 million, per The Chicago Tribune — valuing the full company at $630 million.

  • The share price from the merger is up slightly from when the two companies began negotiating last year, with interest in the takeover likely giving it a boost.
  • As a part of the agreement, Alden agreed to sell the Baltimore Sun, The Capital Gazette in Annapolis, and a few other smaller papers, to a nonprofit called the Sunlight for All Institute, a public charity formed by Stewart Bainum Jr., a former Maryland politician and hotel magnate.
  • Bainum Jr. is a former Maryland politician and hotel magnate.

Yes, but: Given Alden's history, a takeover is expected to lead to a restructuring that could result in more local news jobs being cut.

  • Tribune newsrooms have been bracing for this moment. Buyouts were offered to Chicago Tribune and Orlando Sentinel journalists in early January of last year, following Alden's increased stake in Tribune in 2019, as Axios reported.

Be smart: The full takeover has been a long time coming.

  • Alden initially took a 25% stake in Tribune in late 2019 from Tribune's largest shareholder Michael Ferro in 2019. It later disclosed a bigger, 32%, stake.
  • It increased its footprint at Tribune in recent months, negotiating for a third seat on Tribune's seven-person board.
  • The negotiation for that board seat meant that Alden had to extend a deal that prevented the hedge fund from increasing its stake in the company, unless there was interest from an outside bidder, until 2021.
  • Tribune has been pushing to offload assets, primarily real estate, to survive the financial headwinds driven by the pandemic.

The big picture: The Tribune takeover is the latest example of a storied local news company being gobbled up by a hedge fund amid a bleak time for local news.

  • Tribune rival McClatchy, home to papers like the Miami Herald and The Sacramento Bee, was bought by a hedge fund last year as a result of a bankruptcy auction.
  • A study released in 2018 by the University of North Carolina found that newspaper sales, closures and mergers via the seven largest paper investment owners have increased over the past five years. As Axios has previously noted, hedge funds or private equity groups based in big cities are typically responsible for the takeovers.
  • Alden tried to buy out local media company Gannett in 2019, but failed, leaving the parent company to USA Today to merge with rival newspaper giant Gatehouse.

What to watch: The deal, which still requires shareholder approval, is expected to close in Q2 of this year. One of the Tribune's largest shareholders, who has said little publicly about the takeover bid is Patrick Soon-Shiong, who purchased the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune from Tribune in 2018 for $500 million.

Go deeper:

regular 4 post ff

infinite scroll 4 pff

Pelosi announces select committee to investigate Jan. 6 Capitol riot

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced Thursday that she will create a House select committee to investigate the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Why it matters: The creation of a single Democratic-controlled special committee, which will consolidate several House investigations, comes after Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would have established a bipartisan 9/11-style commission.

Keep reading...Show less

Mark Warner emerges as moderates' dealmaker-in-chief

As Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain navigate the legislative minefield of the next few months, they'll often turn to a moderate Democrat who gets far less ink than Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) or Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.).

The big picture: Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) has become a pivotal player in the multi-trillion-dollar negotiations that will shape the Democrats' electoral prospects, Joe Biden's presidency and the future of the country.

Keep reading...Show less

U.S. ships first 2 million Pfizer COVID vaccine doses to Peru

The U.S. will begin shipping its first doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine abroad Monday, CNN reports.

Why it matters: The first of 2 million Pfizer vaccine doses will be shipped to Peru directly from the U.S., per CNN. Biden has pledged to share 80 million doses of the U.S. vaccine supply with the world.

Keep reading...Show less

Chinese surveillance firm hires former top U.S. sanctions official as lobbyist

A Chinese surveillance firm has enlisted the help of a former senior U.S. official at the Treasury Department's sanctions program, just weeks after the company was reported to have ties to the Chinese military, records show.

Why it matters: The company, Hikvision, has disputed its place on a Pentagon blacklist of companies with Chinese military ties. The new hire by its D.C. lobbying firm is just the latest aimed at rolling back U.S. government measures that threaten to deal a body blow to its business.

Keep reading...Show less

Insights

mail-copy

Get Goodhumans in your inbox

Most Read

More Stories
<!ENTITY lol2 “&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;“> <!ENTITY lol3 “&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;“> <!ENTITY lol4 “&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;“> ]> &lol4;