Tribune Publishing was going to be sold to a hedge fund. Then Halter Ranch owner stepped in
The Swiss billionaire who owns a Paso Robles winery could soon be a part owner in the national media publishing company that owns newspapers such as The Chicago Tribune and The Baltimore Sun.
Tribune Publishing announced Monday that it is considering a proposal from Halter Ranch Vineyard owner Hansjörg Wyss and Maryland hotel developer Stewart Bainum to purchase the company, despite an agreement almost two months ago to sell to New York hedge fund Alden Global Capital.
Wyss, who made his fortune via a medical device manufacturing company he eventually sold to Johnson & Johnson for $21.3 billion in 2012, is a well-known philanthropist who has donated more than a billion dollars to environmental, social justice and science causes.
He is also the owner of Halter Ranch Vineyard in Paso Robles.
Wyss bought the property in 2000, renovated its 19th century Victorian farmhouse and enlarged the vineyard, according to the vineyard website. The estate currently spans more than 2,700 acres, growing wine grapes, walnuts and olives.
The new bid would have Newslight, a joint company formed by Wyss and Bainum, paying cash for all of Tribune Publishing’s outstanding shares of common stock at a price of $18.50 per share.
That is well above Alden’s previous proposal of $17.25 per share.
The Newslight bid values Tribune Publishing at roughly $680 million, well above the $630 million it was valued at under the Alden deal.
A special committee of Tribune Publishing’s Board of Directors said that, after review, the Newslight bid was likely to lead to a “superior proposal” to Alden’s bid. The committee will now consider the new deal to “determine the course of action that is in the best interest of Tribune and its stockholders,” according to a news release on the company’s investor relations website.
Bainum had previously expressed interest in purchasing the publishing company, but his initial solo bid was denied because Alden’s funding was more secure.
In a New York Times interview in March, Wyss said he was inspired to join forces by an opinion essay by two Chicago Tribune reporters critical of Alden’s management style.
Reporters with Tribune Publishing publications have previously spoken out against the hedge fund’s reputation for making deep cuts at its acquired news properties to make them profitable.
“I don’t want to see another newspaper that has a chance to increase the amount of truth being told to the American people going down the drain,” Wyss told The New York Times.
Tribune Publishing operates mostly on the East Coast, including papers such as The Chicago Tribune, The Daily News, The Baltimore Sun, The Orlando Sentinel and more.
It is unaffiliated with The San Luis Obispo Tribune, which is owned by publishing company McClatchy.
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