As the battle to buy Tribune Publishing, publisher of the New York Daily News, is expected to escalate, LA Times billionaire owner Dr. Patrick is expected to mount for Soon-shiong, who holds the key to any sale for his 24 percent stake. In the Chicago Company.
The Tribune’s third-largest shareholder, Mason Saline, which holds a stake of around 3.4 percent, has already said it plans to throw out a lot of its own with a bid led by Stewart Bannum. Hotel Mogul has submitted a share offer of $ 18.50 which values the Chicago Tribune’s publisher, the NY Daily News, the Baltimore Sun and six other daily papers for $ 680 million.
Heath Freeman’s hedge fund Alden Global Capital, by contrast, has offered $ 17.25 a share in a deal that values the company at $ 630 million. Unlike the Saline deal, whose expansion is still emerging, Alden’s proposal has already been vetoed and approved by the Tribune’s board.
“I think Patrick will give the most money to whatever he offers,” said a source associated with Soon-Shoong, a biotech executive who bought La Bay Times and a handful of other Californians from the Tribune in 2018 for $ 201 million.
But others think Soon-shyeong’s continued silence may be an indication that he has made reservations about signing an agreement to return Alden, a hedge fund that has been called the “destroyer of local newspapers” Has gained fame as a result of deep cuts. For years it controlled newspapers through its MediaNews group.
A spokesperson for Sun-shiong said on Thursday that he had no comment on the Tribune’s latest fight for control, which gets hotter by the day.
For example, the news broke at the end of the week, that Hans billionaire Hansjorg Wise, who made his fortune by selling Johnson & Johnson to medical device maker Synthes for more than $ 20 billion, would join the team with Bolim. Shares of the Tribune jumped into the news on Monday at a high of $ 18.13, from $ 17.25 on Friday.
Saline, a former co-owner of FT Media Holdings, jumped into the fray on Tuesday, saying he would also support Bannum with the hopes of buying the Tribune’s two Florida papers: the Orlando Sentinel and the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Tribune shares closed at $ 18.03 per share on Thursday.
Each billionaire has said that they would be ready to invest $ 100 million of their funds. In addition, Gary Lutin, head of the New York Investor and Shareholder Forum, revealed that he is a mystery bidder seeking to buy the Allentown Morning Call for between $ 30 and $ 40 million.
To pass its $ 17.25-a-share proposal, Alden must secure two-thirds of the votes of non-Elders shareholders. “Soon-shiong has a potential veto over the Alden deal,” a special committee source said.
Last month, the special committee of outside directors recommended that shareholders accept the Alden proposal, so far their recommendation has not changed. But this may change when the Bannum Deal, which is still coming together, is finalized.
Soon-Shoyng bought at Trineau at around $ 11 per share certainly appears to be in a winning position. And if he chooses to share the wealth, his newspaper assets can certainly use a cash infusion.
At a virtual town hall on Thursday that did not attend Soon-shiong, Soon-shyeong’s Chris Times Argentine, who oversees the business of the California Times newspaper, revealed that the company suffered a $ 50 million loss in the north in 2020. The Times, San Diego Union-Tribune and a few short weekends for $ 500 million, sources said it was making $ 50 million per year.
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