DallasNews Corporation has scheduled a shareholder vote for
September 23 to finalize its proposed merger with Hearst.
The company has rejected what it calls an “illusory” offer from MediaNews Group (MNG), an Alden Global Capital
firm.
In addition, DallasNews has filed a definitive proxy statement urging investors to vote in favor of Hearst’s all-cash offer of $15 per share.
This
provides “certainty of value and liquidity to shareholders,” the document says, according to The Dallas Morning News.
DallasNews Corp. owns The Dallas Morning
News and the creative marketing agency Medium Giant.
MNG had increased its offer to $17.50 per share, $1 more than its original bid. But Robert W. Decherd, the controlling
shareholder of DallasNews Corp., has been adamant in his refusal to sell to MNG.
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“Alden has a controversial track record in the newspaper industry, with a well-documented history of
cost-cutting, staff reductions, and reduced coverage of local communities,” the shareholder letter says, The Dallas Morning News reports.
Hearst increased its offer from
$14 per share after MNG’s initial bid.
“In approving the Hearst Merger, DallasNews shareholders would be able to realize significant and immediate value for their shares, and would
no longer be subject to market, economic, and other risks that arise from owning an equity interest in a public company,” writes John A. Beckert, chairman of the DallasNews Corporation
board.