GANNETT DETAILS WHY IT REJECTED OFFER FROM MNG

A hedge fund-owned newspaper company that sought to acquire Gannett Co. pitched a $1.8 billion deal funded exclusively with debt during a meeting with company officials last week – a move that Gannett said underscores its decision to reject the offer. Representatives from MNG Enterprises Inc., also known as Digital First Media, met with Gannett privately on Thursday. MNG framed its offer as a transaction that would amount to “a merger or combination, not the acquisition proposal that MNG had previously put forth,” Gannett said Monday.