Gannett, publisher of USA Today and several other newspapers, is poised to purchase the company that owns the Los Angeles Times in a deal that could be announced as early as today, according to the website Politico.
Gannett, the nation’s largest publisher as measured by circulation, will offer $18.50 to $19 per share for stock in Tronc, the publisher of the Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune and The Baltimore Sun, Politico reported. Tronc stands for Tribune online content, the name adopted by Tribune Publishing in June.
Tribune Chairman Michael Ferro rebuffed a $400 million takeover bid by Gannett made in August — about $18 per share — according to the website, which also said Ferro’s partners in the Merrick Media investment firm have lobbied him to sell to Gannett.
Gannett reportedly believes the deal would pay off by enabling many of its operations to share costs.
One hurdle to the sale could be a lawsuit by the second-largest shareholder in Tronc, billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, who wants the Times to be locally owned, Politico said. Soon-Shiong, a South Africa-born surgeon and businessman of Chinese ancestry, teaches at UCLA.
