Md. businessman bids for Tribune Publishing

Bainum submits $650M offer for operation, including The Capital, Carroll County Times

expressed interest in a potential acquisition of Baltimore Sun Media for $25 million. That aligns with reports last year that local philanthropists, including the Abell Foundation and Goldseker Foundation, had approached Tribune Publishing about acquiring The Sun.

While Tribune Publishing entered a confidentiality agreement with that party, they ultimately “agreed not to proceed due to the wide gap in valuation expectations between the parties,” according to the filing.

An Abell spokeswoman said in an email the foundation has signed a nondisclosure agreement and cannot comment. Matt Gallagher, president of the Goldseker Foundation, did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Another party expressed interest in the Hartford Courant in July, but the parties were unable to agree on a confidentiality agreement to pursue talks.

After Alden’s initial $14.25 per share bid for the company in December, an unidentified bidder submitted a nonbinding proposal to buy Tribune Publishing for $15 a share on Jan. 13. The special committee went back to Alden with a $18.25 per share counter proposal in the wake of the third-party bid, according to the filing.

Tribune Publishing’s investment adviser, the New York firm Lazard Freres, subsequently determined that there was “a gap in equity financing” for the $15 per share thirdparty bid.

On March 10, Tribune Publishing received an offer from another unidentified bidder to buy the Morning Call Media Group for between $30 million and $40 million, according to the filing. Tribune Publishing said it is restricted by the merger agreement from “pursuing these indications of interest,” and referred the inquiry to Alden.

Days later, Bainum submitted his offer and the special committee agreed to let him pursue financing.

Bainum may be trying to piece together group of interested local parties to pool resources to buy Tribune Publishing and take the local newspapers and turn them into nonprofits, Loyola’s Leggio said. But that’s a big ask, she said, citing the lack of success of an effort in Chicago to find an investor there to buy the Chicago Tribune.

“Newspapers in general are not an easy investment vehicle right now,” Leggio said. “But Bainum has a nice network, so it’s possible for him to put together an investment group.”

Leggio also suggested the deal could face increased regulatory scrutiny.

“There is no guarantee this will go through,” Leggio said of Alden’s deal, citing the high level of consolidation in the newspaper industry.