Tribune Board Rejects Gannett’s $815 Million Takeover Proposal

  • Offer undervalues LA Times, Chicago Tribune publisher: board
  • Company unveils `standalone' plan to bolster LA Times globally

Delivery trucks wait to be loaded at the Chicago Tribune Freedom Center in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. August 7, 2015.

Photographer: Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg
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Tribune Publishing Co.’s board unanimously rejected a $815 million unsolicited takeover offer from Gannett Co., saying the bid undervalues the owner of the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune. Gannett said in a statement it’s not going away.

“After thorough consideration, the board has unanimously concluded that it is not prepared to engage with Gannett about a combination of our companies based on the value you indicated in the proposal,” Tribune’s board wrote in a letterBloomberg Terminal Wednesday. “The board believes that the price reflected in the proposal understates the company’s true value and is not in the best interests of our shareholders.”