Chicago Tribune Owner Agrees To Purchase By Hedge Fund Alden Global Capital
CHICAGO (CBS/AP) -- The owners of the Chicago Tribune have agreed to a $630 million buyout from Alden Global Capital.
Alden is a New York-based hedge fund known for cutting costs and eliminating newsroom jobs.
Tribune Publishing Co., which also owns the New York Daily News, the Baltimore Sun, and other newspapers, said Tuesday it has agreed to sell its shares to Alden for $17.25 apiece, in cash.
Alden became Tribune Publishing's largest shareholder in 2019. It now holds a 32 percent stake.
The hedge fund already owns one of the country's largest newspaper chains. Among the papers it owns are the Boston Herald, the Denver Post and the San Jose Mercury News.
The Baltimore Sun is not part of the deal, and will be sold to a nonprofit formed by businessman and philanthropist Stewart Bainum Jr. The nonprofit will run the paper "for the benefit of the community," the Sun wrote on Tuesday.
The success of the Tribune deal hinges on securing the votes of biotech billionaire and Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, who owns about 24 percent of Tribune Publishing, and shareholder Mason Slaine, a former media executive who owns about 8 percent, according to the Chicago Tribune. Slaine and a representative for Soon-Shiong did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press on Tuesday.
In January of last year, reporters at the Tribune were seeking a new owner for the paper out of concerns about Alden Global Capital's plans for all of the papers owned by Tribune Publishing.
In a statement reported by the AP, Alden said: "Our commitment to ensuring the sustainability of robust local journalism is well established and this is part of that effort."
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
