Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund known for restructuring at local newspapers, is acquiring the remainder of Tribune Publishing.
The remaining buyout will give Alden 68 percent of the shares it does not already own in the Tribune for roughly $431 million, per The Chicago Tribune — valuing the full company at $630 million, reports Axios.
Tribune members were bracing for this moment as buyouts were offered to Chicago Tribune and Orlando Sentinel journalists in early January 2020 following Alden’s increased stake in Tribune in 2019.
As part of the sale, Alden agreed to sell the Baltimore Sun, The Capital Gazette in Annapolis, and a few other smaller papers, to a nonprofit called the Sunlight for All Institute, a public charity.
Also, the agreement creates one of the largest local publishing giants in America, with Alden already owning hundreds of papers through its majority ownership of Digital First Media, which controls papers such as the Denver Post and the Boston Herald.
The Tribune takeover marks the latest example of a local news company being swallowed by a hedge fund amid a bleak time for local news.
The deal, pending shareholder approval, is expected to close in Q2 of this year.
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