Lee Enterprises has enacted a strategy to prevent a potential hostile takeover by Alden Global Capital, the owner of Tribune Publishing, and parent company of the Hartford Courant.
The drama began two weeks ago when Alden made an unexpected and premium bid for Lee shares. The Lee board then enacted a program(poison pill) that would make any Alden effort to buy Lee shares more expensive and possibly cost-prohibitive.
Lee owns 75 newspapers nationwide, including the St. Louis Post Dispatch and the Richmond Times Dispatch.
Meanwhile, the New York Times reports Tribune Publishing could be eligible for funds from the Build Back Better program currently working its way through Congress. A provision in the bill, which is now in the Senate after winning House approval, provides tax relief in the support of local news companies.
