Tribune Publishing stock hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday, prompting speculation that its suitors are having a tough time coming up with money to close a deal.
A potential acquisition is still seen as McClatchy’s to lose. But sources speculate that the publisher of the Miami Herald and Kansas City Star still needs another deep-pocketed backer to close a deal to buy the Chicago Tribune, the struggling New York Daily News, the Baltimore Sun and other papers. McClatchy was continuing to do due diligence this week, so it hasn’t walked away.
Meanwhile, two other potential rival bidders, the Donerail Group, headed by former Starboard hedgie Will Wyatt, and AIM Media, headed by former Sun-Times CEO Jeremy Halbreich, have had preliminary talks about working together, sources said. They have not come to any kind of agreement yet.
In a rough week for stocks overall — in which newspaper stocks, in particular, were hammered — Tribune hit a 52-week low of $13.81 before closing at $13.90, down $1.01, or 6.8 percent, Tuesday.
Separately, Tribune Publishing on Friday said in an email to employees that it was offering voluntary buyouts at most of its non-unionized papers—and that if it did not hit its targets, layoffs might ensue.
“We hope to meet our financial targets through this buyout plan, however, if we don’t we may need to explore further workforce reductions,” Maya A. Bordeaux, human resources executive at Tribune Publishing, wrote in the email.
The company said it was offering the buyouts to non-union employees, but an equivalent package would be offered to unionized workers in the next several weeks. The Daily News, which laid off 103 people in August, is not involved in the latest buyout offers.
Credit: NY Post</>
via USAHint.com
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