Lee Enterprises, which owns the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other newspapers, said Alden’s proposal fails to recognize the strength of its business.
Photo: Jeff Roberson/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Lee Enterprises Inc. LEE 0.40% said its board rejected an unsolicited proposal from New York hedge fund and U.S. newspaper consolidator Alden Global Capital LLC to purchase the company for $24 a share in cash.
The local news, information, and advertising services company said Thursday its board determined that Alden’s proposal undervalues the company and isn’t in its best interest.
“The Alden proposal grossly undervalues Lee and fails to recognize the strength of our business today, as the fastest-growing digital subscription platform in local media, and our compelling future prospects,” said Lee Chairman Mary Junck, adding the company is confident in its ability to create value as an independent company.
Alden, an investor in U.S. newspapers with platforms including MediaNews Group Inc. and Tribune Publishing Co., in late November proposed purchasing Lee for $24 a share in cash, representing a premium to Lee’s closing share price of $18.49 on Nov. 19. Alden said it could fully finance the deal and it wouldn’t include a financing condition.
Alden said at the time that an affiliated entity owned about 6% of Lee’s common stock.
In late November, after receiving the proposal, Lee said its board adopted a limited-duration shareholder rights plan in response to the proposal. In early December, Lee said a notice submitted by Alden Global Capital to nominate three candidates to stand for election to Lee’s board was invalid.
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