A Swiss billionaire living in Wyoming has reportedly joined hotel executive Stewart Bainum Jr.’s longshot bid to acquire Tribune Publishing Co., the Chicago-based parent company of the Hartford Courant and several other newspapers.
According to a report from The New York Times, Hansjorg Wyss, the founder and former president of medical device manufacturing company Synthes USA, announced Friday that he will back Bainum’s efforts because he believes “in the need for a robust press” in the U.S.
The report did not state how much money, if any, Wyss has so far committed to the venture.
Bainum is aiming to upend an attempt by Tribune’s largest shareholder, private equity firm Alden Global Capital, to buy the entire media company in a deal worth approximately $630 million.
The Choice Hotels International chairman initially planned to acquire only the Tribune-owned Baltimore Sun through a nonprofit entity he controls, the Sunlight for All Institute, once Alden had completed its buyout of the company. After negotiations involving that deal stalled, however, Bainum went to Tribune directly, offering $18.50 per share, or about $650 million in total, for all of the Tribune publications.
According to documents filed last week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Bainum is prepared to commit $100 million and hopes to raise the remaining sum from other sources.
Letters sent by Bainum’s representatives “alluded to a future for the company and its newspapers potentially under a not-for-profit model,” the documents state.
Tribune officials endorsed Alden’s proposal in a message to investors but have agreed to entertain Bainum’s offer, allowing him to pursue financing options.
In addition to the Hartford Courant and The Baltimore Sun, Tribune Publishing also owns the Chicago Tribune, the New York Daily News, Florida’s Sun Sentinel and Orlando Sentinel, Virginia’s Daily Press and Virginian-Pilot, and The Morning Call of eastern Pennsylvania.
