By William Turvill
A group of Lee Enterprises unions has urged the company to “reject any present and future” takeover offers made by hedge fund Alden Global Capital.
Alden, which completed its controversial acquisition of Tribune Publishing earlier this year, last week made an unsolicited bid for Lee, which publishes news titles including the Omaha World-Herald and St Loius Post-Dispatch.
Lee responded defensively by enacting a shareholder rights plan. This prevents Alden from acquiring more than 10% of the company while Lee’s board considers the offer.
Today, 12 unionised Lee Enterprises newsrooms wrote to the company board highlighting Alden’s track record in the news industry and demanding that no deal be struck.
“They will take this proud company, built over decades of hard work, and leave it in ashes,” they said. “Thousands of us will lose our jobs, and the communities we service will never recover. Cities with weakened or shuttered newspapers have lower voter turnout, higher taxes, more corruption and increased polarization. Our democracy suffers, and Alden reaps the rewards.”
Source: Statement
Deal value: $142m
Country: US
Status: Official
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