• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer, February 4, 2016

This week brought an unexpected twist in the already fraught saga of Tribune Publishing: Michael Ferro, the majority owner of the Chicago Sun-Times, purchased a 17% stake in the publisher of the Chicago Tribune, its arch-rival in the Windy City.

The $44.4 million purchase of 5.2 million shares of new common stock makes him the largest individual shareholder in Tribune, earning him a position as non-executive chairman on the Tribune board.

This somewhat odd turn of events has media watchers wondering what, exactly, is going on. It's sort of like Wall Street Journal owner Rupert Murdoch buying a stake in The New York Times.

Is this a move toward merger?

Probably not, as the terms of the deal state Ferro can’t acquire a more than 25% of the outstanding shares in Tribune, making a takeover impossible. But by the same token, that doesn’t preclude Tribune from buying the Sun-Times. (In 2014, it bought 38 suburban newspapers from Sun-Times owner Wrapports.)

Conversely, is Ferro preparing to dump the Sun-Times in favor of Tribune? Who knows -- although he’s giving up any operational involvement with the Sun-Times and stepping down as chairman of Wrapports as part of the transaction.

A few things are clear: Ferro’s investment bolsters Tribune’s war chest significantly as it considers a number of acquisitions, including the possible purchase of the Orange County Register from bankrupt Freedom Communications. Tribune previously gave Freedom a cash infusion and made a “stalking horse” bid for the OC Register. Tribune boss Jack Griffin also said the company is examining other potential buys.

Ferro boasts a formidable record in technology that may be useful to Tribune.

He previously purchased a medical software provider for $20 million and sold it last year for $1 billion, after expanding the business substantially. On that note, Ferro stated: “I see tremendous upside to create value and put Tribune Publishing at the forefront of technology and content to benefit journalists and shareholders.”

But it’s worth noting that Ferro’s tech expertise has not involved much in the way of consumer-facing media. Over the last few years, Sun-Times has struggled just as much as the Tribune. That includes layoffs, a failed business magazine, the sale of the suburban papers mentioned above, and the much-reported firing of all the newspaper’s photographers at one point, before some were re-hired.