Tribune Publishing receives $680 million buyout offer from Newslight

Tribune Publishing Co has received a $680 million takeover offer from Newslight LLC, a bid that trumps an earlier proposal from investment fund Alden Global Capital for the owner of the Chicago Tribune and the New York Daily News.

Tribune said in a statement on Monday that its board had determined that the $18.50 per share proposal from Newslight, jointly owned by Choice Hotels International Inc Chairman Stewart Bainum and Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, was superior to Alden’s bid.

The New York investment fund that is the largest shareholder in Tribune Publishing with a 32% stake proposed to acquire the rest of the newspaper, company which owns some of the biggest papers in the country, including the Chicago Tribune and New York Daily News, for $17.25 a share, valuing the company at around $630 million. 

Newslight’s offer represents a premium of about 45% to Tribune’s close before Alden made its first bid on Dec. 31. The Baltimore Sun owner’s shares closed at $18.03 on Thursday.

New York-based Alden, the largest shareholder in Tribune, had offered $17.25 per share for the company in February for the stake it did not already own.

Source: Reuters