DENVER (AP) — The publisher of USA Today has received a $1.36 billion takeover bid from a media group with a history of taking over struggling newspapers and slashing costs.
MNG Enterprises, better known as Digital First Media, said in a letter to Gannett Co. Monday that its leadership team has failed to show that it can run the company effectively.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report that the hedge-fund backed MNG has built up a 7.5 percent stake in Gannett, and that it has been rebuffed repeatedly by the company about a sale.
The McLean, Virginia-based publisher owns dozens of newspapers including the Record in New Jersey and the Arizona Republic in addition to USA Today.
Digital First plans offered $12 per share for Gannett, nearly a quarter above its closing share price Friday of $9.75. Gannett’s shares have rebounded after a rough spell in 2018.
Digital First owns about 200 newspapers and other publications including the Denver Post and Boston Morning Herald. It has a reputation for stringent, painful cost-cutting. Its biggest shareholder is Alden Global Capital LLC, a New York-based hedge fund that mainly invests in distressed companies.
Florida Today, Brevard County
Fort Myers News-Press
Naples Daily News
Pensacola News Journal
Tallahassee Democrat
Treasure Coast Newspapers
The Stuart News, Stuart
Indian River Press Journal, Vero Beach
The St. Lucie News-Tribune, Fort Pierce
FSView & Florida Flambeau
Central Florida Future
Seminole Chronicle
Pensacola News Journal