The hedge fund Alden Global buys the newspaper chain Tribune Publishing

The hedge fund Alden Global buys the newspaper chain Tribune Publishing

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The acquisition is long awaited and feared internally after the hedge fund became the company’s largest shareholder in 2019 with approximately 32% ownership. Hundreds of Tribune employees signed a letter protesting the ownership, citing the ‘well-documented history of the hedge fund to derive short-term gains from already lean operations by reducing editorial posts and denying fair wages and benefits.’ Shortly after Alden took control, Tribune offered buyouts to employees for the second time in two years.

Some Tribune owner employees have been looking for alternative options to hedge ownership. The staff members of Hartford Courant sought non-profit ownership through the “Save Our Courant” campaign. So did the association of The Baltimore Sun with the “Save Our Sun” campaign.

In Tuesday’s news release, Alden announced that it had agreed to sell the Baltimore Sun Media Group to Sunlight for All Institute, a non-profit organization led by Stewart Bainum Jr., chairman of hotel chain Choice Hotels International. The media group includes The Baltimore Sun, The Capital Gazette in Annapolis, The Carroll County Times and other local stores.

Alden and Tribune said in a joint release on Tuesday that the board of directors of Tribune had approved the agreement after a special committee reviewed the options – including Alden’s proposal. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of this year and requires the approval of two-thirds of the non-Alden shareholders.

The announcement has already drawn criticism from some of Tribune’s employees.

“Absolutely terrible news,” tweeted Gregory Pratt, a reporter for City Hall at The Tribune.

According to Pamela Wood of Baltimore Sun, the acquisition of Alden “really awful.”
Other media observers, such as Margaret Sullivan, celebrated the sale of Baltimore Sun to a non-profit organization and called it the ‘one bright spot in the development of Alden / Tribune’.
Tribune Publishing also owns Sun Sentinel and Orlando Sentinel, Virginia’s Daily Press and The Virginian Pilot, and The Morning Call of Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. The company closed several newsrooms during the pandemic, including The Daily News, The Morning Call and The Orlando Sentinel.

“Over the past year, the company has taken a number of actions to adapt to an ever-changing business and operating environment, including the impact of COVID-19,” said Philip Franklin, chairman of the board and a member of the special committee. , said in a statement. “These actions include strengthening the financial position of the company, promoting digital growth and investing in high quality content to better serve customers, employees and communities. This positioning has enabled the special committee to premium, to negotiate cash price, which according to the committee was better than the available alternatives. ‘

Tribune spokesman Max Reinsdorf declined to comment further on CNN Business.

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