MediaNews Group Under the acquisition plan, MediaNews Group debt fell to $165 million from about $930 million. Senior lenders under the deal were to swap debt for stock. MediaNews Group came out of bankruptcy in March 2010 under the majority ownership of its lenders. The appointees to the MediaNews board were replaced by new directors representing the stockholders group led by Alden Global Capital. Several interim executive positions were also filled by people related to Alden or its parent, Smith Management LLC.
Tribune Publishing In May 2021,
Tribune Publishing finalized its sale to Alden, after having announced in February 2021 that it intended to pursue this path. Alden's purchase price was $635 million, or $17.25 per share. Tribune Publishing published nine major metropolitan dailies. These included the
Chicago Tribune, the
New York Daily News, and
The Baltimore Sun. The
Daily News was transferred by Alden into a separate Alden-owned company, Daily News Enterprises, upon the close of the deal. Alden first became involved with Tribune Publishing in 2019, when they paid $117.9 million to
Michael Ferro for his 25.2-percent stake.
Attempted acquisition of Gannett In 2019, Alden attempted but failed at a hostile takeover of
Gannett.
Attempted acquisition of Lee Enterprises Alden purchased a 5.9-percent stake in
Lee Enterprises in January 2020. Lee Enterprises owns 77 daily newspapers, including the
Buffalo News,
Omaha World-Herald and the
Tulsa World. In early December, the board of Lee unanimously rejected the Alden bid, saying that the Alden proposal "grossly undervalues Lee and fails to recognize the strength of our business today." Shortly thereafter, Alden Global, through its operating unit Strategic Investment Opportunities, filed a lawsuit in state court in Delaware against Lee Enterprises. The Alden lawsuit asserts that the members of the Lee board "have every reason to maintain the status quo and their lucrative corporate positions" and that they are "focused more on [their] own power than what's best for the company." In mid-February 2022, the Delaware court found in favor of Lee Enterprises. In the face of that setback, Alden said it would turn to the tactic of filing a
proxy statement asking the company's shareholders to vote no on board members Mary Junck and Herbert Moloney during the March 2022 board elections. This attempt also failed, as shareholders returned both directors to the Lee board despite Alden's opposition. ==Real estate holdings==