"A newspaper transaction doesn't always have to go horribly. The worst possible outcome isn't always predestined. Today, shareholders of DallasNews Corporation, owners of The Dallas Morning News, voted overwhelmingly to make a lot of money by being acquired by the Hearst Corporation. (Hearst has been generous enough to describe this process as a "merger" rather than an acquisition, but when a company that makes $13 billion a year buys one that makes $125 million a year, it's hardly a merger of equals.)"
"At one level, it was an easy decision: A share of DallasNews stock was trading at $4.39 when Hearst offered to buy it this summer; after today's vote, shareholders will get $16.50 a pop. Few people will turn down a 275% return on investments. But the matter was complicated by Alden Global Capital, a rival chain, making a set of counteroffers that eventually reached $20.00 a share. Accepting that should have been an even easier decision."
Shareholders of DallasNews Corporation voted overwhelmingly to be acquired by the Hearst Corporation, securing $16.50 per share versus earlier trading at $4.39. The deal yields about a 275% return on shareholders’ investments. Alden Global Capital made counteroffers that reached $20.00 per share, but Alden's reputation for gutting newsrooms raised significant concern. A dual-class share structure gives control to the Dealey family descendants, especially long-time CEO Robert Decherd, and a sale required their approval. Decherd prioritized protecting the newspaper’s future and his life's work over accepting Alden's higher bid. Hearst's purchase is far larger in scale than DallasNews.
Read at Nieman Lab
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]