A move that many hoped would never happen has happened. Alden Global Capital has completed its $633 million purchase of the Tribune Publishing shares it didn’t already own, according to regulatory findings.
What does that mean? Alden now takes over Tribune’s nine metro newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, the New York Daily News and Orlando Sentinel. Along with its chain of 70-some dailies in the MediaNews Group, Alden now becomes the second-largest newspaper chain in the U.S.
But there are fears that the hedge fund Alden will run its new papers as it has the ones it already owns by slashing payroll and resources.
In the first major news since the acquisition, Tribune Publishing CEO Terry Jimenez, who was the only member of Tribune’s board to vote against the Alden deal, has left the company. According to the Chicago Tribune’s Robert Channick , Jimenez received $1.734 million in equity compensation. His total golden parachute is believed to be more than $2.5 million.
