Commentary

Tribune Publishing Calls For First Round of Buyout Bids

Tribune Publishing, formerly Tronc, has been looking for a buyer for some time.

Last summer, after completing its sale of the Los Angeles Times to biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong (who also holds a 25% stake in Tribune Publishing), the company expressed interest in selling the rest of its titles, including the Chicago Tribune, to a private equity firm.

After the sale of the L.A. Times, the company was nearly debt-free.

The thinking: once that deal was done, the Tribune's newspapers would be sold off as parts to interested and, perhaps, independent parties.

Then, a merger with newspaper giant McClatchy seemed more likely. Earlier this month, the New York Post reported the two companies were closing in on a merger; Soon-Shiong was expected to offer major help financially in the deal.

Since then, Soon-Shiong has been unpredictable in his support, all but disappearing recently. 

Now, in an attempt to speed up the dragging sale process, Tribune Publishing has called for potential buyers to submit their first round of buyout bids by today, according to another report from the NY Post.

advertisement

advertisement

McClatchy is still expected to submit a bid and has two parties willing to lend it money in the event of a sale and merger. The first is Apollo Global Management and the second is Chathan Asset Management, which is offering to turn McClatchy’s more than $300 million debt into equity in the event of a merger.

Chatham Asset Management currently owns 10% of McClatchy and is also the owner of the beleaguered American Media Inc., home to The National Enquirer.

McClatchy and Tribune Publishing own a huge swatch of local newspapers across the country. Should they merge, those local voices will continue to dwindle.

The idea that the same group — Chatham Asset Management — that supports an outlet like The National Enquirer—whose publisher David Pecker was granted immunity in the Michael Cohen case   and is famous for his catch-and-kill strategy — could reach a substantial part of the news-reading public is unnerving.

It’s another jarring example of the desperate position of local newspapers, as publishers struggle to stay afloat.

Next story loading loading..