A media company led by a hedge fund is making a play to take over Gannett, one of the largest newspaper companies in the United States.
MNG Enterprises, which is also known as Digital First Media, announced Monday that it has proposed to buy Gannett for $12 a share in cash.
MNG is mostly owned by Alden Global Capital, a New York-based hedge fund known for buying distressed properties. It has been investing in newspapers for the last decade. While the newspaper industry has struggled in recent years, critics say MNG cuts deeper than most of its rivals.
Gannett, meanwhile, has lost more than 40% of its value over the last two years — a drop that MNG says makes it ripe for new ownership.
In a letter to Gannett’s board of directors, MNG dinged the company for a “series of value-destroying decisions made by an unfocused leadership team.”
“Frankly, the team leading Gannett has not demonstrated that it’s capable of effectively running this enterprise as a public company,” MNG wrote.
Gannett (GCI) stock was up nearly 20% in pre-market trading Monday.
