USA Today owner makes bid valued at $815m to takeover LA Times publisher
Newspaper publisher Gannett, which owns USA Today and Newsquest in the UK, has today (25 April) made a formal offer to buy rival Tribune Publishing for around than $815m, taking on about $390m of debt.
The deal that would give the publisher control of the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and several other newspapers.
Gannett said it offered $12.25 in cash for each Tribune share, a 63 percent premium to Tribune's Friday closing price of $7.52. Gannett valued the total deal at about $815m, which includes about $390m of debt.
Gannett’s board said it was “disappointed” by Tribune’s “continued refusal to begin constructive discussions” about a deal after its first offer to buy the company was rejected on 12 April.
Tribune confirmed today that it received the unsolicited offer and said it "will respond to Gannett as quickly as feasible".
It comes as Gannett has been working to expand its reach around the U.S., closing a deal earlier this month to buy the Journal Media Group, adding 15 newspapers to its portfolio, including the Knoxville News Sentinel and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The acquisition of Tribune would give Gannett 11 more newspapers, including the Orlando Sentinel, The Baltimore Sun and the Hartford Courant.