The Wall Street fat cats are at it again.
Hedge fund Alden Global Capital acquired storied newspaper company Tribune Publishing Company in a deal finalized late Monday. The $633 million acquisition, which was largely funded through taking on debt, came after the Board of Directors for Tribune gave the greenlight late last week, according to the Chicago Tribune.
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Alden Global Capital owns the The Advance of Bucks County and famed tabloid The Trentonian, along with hundreds of other titles around the country. Tribune owns the Lehigh Valley Morning Call, which often covers Upper Bucks County, the Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, and other regional papers.
The massive deal quickly led to Tribune CEO Terry Jimenez being cut and hedge fund president Heath Freeman being installed as its leader, according to the New York Post.
Alden Global Capital, which has a reputation for cutting jobs and selling publication’s real estate, is now the second-biggest newspaper owner in the country. Gannett is the first and owns the Bucks County Courier Times and Doylestown Intelligencer, which have seen massive cuts.
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“Money will always come first as long as hedge funds like Alden Global Capital are allowed to operate unchecked While our ownership is changing, what will NOT is our firm stand for local news, for members and for the communities we serve. We cannot and WILL NOT back down,” said The Morning Call Guild, the union that represents reporters at the Allentown newspaper.
Several other unions that represent Tribune newspaper reporters are working to woo local investors to purchase their papers and make investment in the businesses.
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“We’re profoundly disappointed and concerned about Alden Global Capital’s purchase of Tribune Publishing. We stand with journalists and civic leaders who are working to build a better future for local news,” the Lenfest Institute said in a tweet. The nonprofit owns the Philadelphia Inquirer.
As the Chicago Tribune reported, the maneuvers leading up to the sale were filled with plenty of drama.
Alden Global Capital was the majority shareholder for Payless ShoeSource at the time it closed and laid off employees in Lower Bucks County and across the U.S. and Canada.
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The arm of Alden Global Capital that operates newspapers was previously based in Lower Makefield Township and Falls Township. The company operated the now-defunct Bristol Pilot, Yardley News, New Hope Gazette, and Doylestown Patriot newspapers. The Advance of Bucks County now has an office in Montgomery County, but previously maintained ones in Newtown Borough and Bristol Township.
The Advance of Bucks County and Trentonian, which covers some Bucks County news and sports, have seen a number of cuts over the years, but have still remained strong publications.
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Bucks County is served by a number of locally-owned publications, including LevittownNow.com, the Bucks County Herald, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Delaware Valley News, and WBCB News.
The New York City-based Patch.com network of site also covers several area towns.
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