Tribune Publishing Changes Name to Tronc
Citing a firm that helped solicit withhold votes, Gannett said that 49 percent had voted withhold on all the director nominees and that more than 50 percent withheld votes for Chairman Michael Ferro, CEO Michael Dearborn and former Chairman Eddy Hartenstein. I sincerely hope that the Gannett shareholders begin to express their displeasure to the Gannett Board regarding the corporate waste that has been perpetrated these past six weeks with their massive spend on this emblematic campaign.
Oaktree, based in downtown L.A., went from being Tribune’s second largest shareholder to its third, behind Soon-Shiong, following that deal. Gannett’s offers marked 63% and 99% premiums over where Tribune’s shares had been trading before Gannett’s first bid was made public in April.
FILE - In this August 5, 2014, file photo, specialist Michael Cacace, foreground right, works at the post that handles Gannett on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
In a more surprising move amid a hostile acquisition bid by Gannett (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Publishing (TPUB -1.8%) - owner of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times among other metro papers - is announcing a corporate rebranding and move to trade on Nasdaq. Its previous offer was $12.25 per share. Both included the assumption of debt, which was $385 million as of March 27.
There’s a possibility that Tribune shareholders’ show of force could motivate Gannett to raise its bid (if even just slightly) to ramp up the pressure even further.
Gannett’s board is discussing its options and no decision has been made, said the person, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private.
Gannett said today that it is mulling whether to continue its effort to buy the company still known as Tribune.
Late Friday afternoon came more news that two shareholders are still unhappy that the Gannett offer was rejected.
Ferro has insisted that Tribune is better off in pursuing its own digital-centric strategy.
Ferro achieved this by issuing 4.7 million shares to Patrick Soon-Shiong, giving him 13 percent of the company, “massively diluting the company’s ordinary stockholders in the process”, according to the complaint. Soon-Shiong told Bloomberg he plans to use technology he’s developed to revitalize the newspaper user experience, including “machine vision” technology that would bring stories to life by swiping a smartphone over them. “Each member of the board - all of whom received the support of the majority of the shares voted at Tribune’s recent annual meeting - remain committed to acting in the best interests of all shareholders”.
The matter has discredited the firms, said Erik Gordon, a professor of business and law at the University of MI.
The company has previously said it has a tech-heavy plan to boost shareholder value and that Gannett’s offer was too low.
Tribune Media is a massive company that has under major media outlets like the Chicago Tribune and others under its umbrella. the rebranding is something of a head scratcher but it makes sense in that print media is a decaying form of reading news, and this new - and literally more colorful - approach to branding is something that appears to be heard towards younger audiences.