The publisher of USA Today and dozens of other newspapers, including the Baxter Bulletin, has said no to a hedge-fund backed media group with a reputation for slashing jobs. However, the buyout fight may not be over.
KYTV reports Gannett on Monday said its board has unanimously rejected an unsolicited $1.36 billion buyout from MNG Enterprises, better known as Digital First Media. Digital First then said that it might nominate new Gannett board directors to consider its offer.
According to Gannett Co., the board decided the $12 per share offer was too low, and it wasn’t in the interest of the company or its shareholders.
Gannett also cast doubt on Digital First’s ability to complete the deal after it said the company refused to answer questions about its ability to fund the acquisition without a non-disclosure agreement.
While the newspaper industry has shrunk and consolidated as readers ditch print papers and go online, leading to dramatic job losses at papers across the U.S., Digital First has a reputation for particularly stringent, painful cost-cutting.
It has become one of the biggest U.S. newspaper chains, with about 200 papers and other publications, including The Denver Post and the Boston Herald.
Digital First said Gannett was not interested in seriously considering its proposal, and it may take the fight to the board with new director nominations. It has a 7.5 percent stake in Gannett.
Newspaper industry consolidation has followed circulation and advertising declines. Newsroom employment fell by nearly a quarter between 2008 and 2017, according to Pew Research, and layoffs have continued this year.
In recent weeks there have been job cuts and buyout offers at old-school newspaper publishers like Gannett and McClatchy, as well as at digital outlets like Vice, Huffington Post and BuzzFeed.
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