DallasNews Corp. has unceremoniously rejected a non-binding bid by Alden Global Capital to acquire The Dallas Morning News for $16.50 per share as Hearst upped its initial offer from
$14 per share to $15.
Alden Global Capital’s MNG Enterprises Inc. made its offer last week, after Hearst and DallasNews Corp. had signed an agreement.
Robert W. Decherd and his affiliates control more than 96% of the voting power of DallasNews Corp.’s Series B common stock and over 50% of of the firm’s Series A and Series B common
stock.
Decherd has confirmed his intention to approve the Hearst Merger Agreement. And he states there is “no scenario” in which he will approve a sale to Alden or its
affiliates. The Alden gambit cannot go forward without his approval.
We may not have heard the end of this. Alden went to court when Lee Enterprises rejected its attempt to buy the
company, and it could try that here. But for now it looks like Hearst will own the Dallas Morning News.
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Alden itself has said says that its proposal is
“a non-binding expression of interest only” that “does not constitute an offer capable of acceptance,” DallasNews Corp. states.
If nothing
else, Alden has succeeded in driving the price up for Hearst.
Meanwhile, Dallas Morning News staffers must be wondering what this will mean for
them.
A purchase by Alden Global Capital would probably alarm many journalists, given the firm’s reputation for gutting newsrooms. But would Hearst be any
better?
Presumably, but that remains to be seen.
In March, Hearst announced plans to acquire the Austin American Statesman from Gannett. And staffers are now
calling on Hearst to honor union member’s status quo rights and agree to a contract that at least matches its previous one.
Moreover, a letter from employees at the five
unionized Hearst newsrooms employees across all units call on the firm to refrain from “intimidation tactics or discipline meant to scare journalists into silence or complacency,” the
letter states.
Of course, calling on Hearst to refrain from such actions does not mean it is guilty of them. What it does mean is that newsroom workers will now be absorbed into a bigger
corporation.
And it shows that acquirers are willing to pay premium prices for big-town news properties.