Tribune Publishing Rejects Gannett Bid
May 04 2016 - 4:50PM
Dow Jones News
Tribune Publishing Co.'s board of directors has rejected an
unsolicited acquisition offer from Gannett Co., calling it an
"opportunistic" bid that undervalued the company and wasn't in the
best interest of shareholders.
"While the board is always open to evaluating any credible
proposal that it believes to be in the best interests of the
Company and its shareholders, Gannett's opportunistic proposal
understates the Company's true value and is not a basis for further
discussion," Chief Executive Justin Dearborn said in a letter to
Gannett. Tribune disclosed the letter in a statement on
Wednesday.
A representative for Gannett didn't have an immediate
response.
Gannett went public on April 25 with its proposal to acquire
Tribune for about $400 million and the assumption of debt, saying
it was frustrated by the company's slow response.
The two sides had sparred in increasingly testy public letters,
with Tribune accusing Gannett of "playing games" and calling its
approach "aggressive and hostile." Earlier this week, Gannett urged
Tribune's shareholders not to back Tribune's slate of board
nominees at the annual meeting on June 2 to send a message to the
company to engage in talks.
Tribune's stock price had tumbled as much as 70% since its 2014
spinoff from television properties that now comprise Tribune Media
Co., before partly rebounding when Gannett's offer of $12.25 a
share was made public. Tribune shares closed down 1.4% Wednesday at
$11.02.
After market, Tribune reported that it swung to a loss in the
first quarter, amid restructuring charges and declining advertising
revenue.
Write to Lukas I. Alpert at lukas.alpert@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 04, 2016 17:35 ET (21:35 GMT)
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