More news about the financial state of a large company that owns a local media outlet. First, from the Philadelphia Inquirer:
A private investor group that has acquired a 19 percent stake in Knight Ridder Inc., publisher of The Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News, is calling for the sale of the company in order to boost its sagging market value.
The investor group Private Capital Management, owned by Legg Mason, said in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission today that it has requested Knight Ridder's Board to "promptly pursue a competitive sale of the company."
From PCM's letter to the Knight Ridder Board: In
light of limited revenue growth across the newspaper industry and the
difficulties the Company has faced in realizing the fair value of the
Company for its shareholders, we believe the Board should now
aggressively pursue the competitive sale of the Company. [...]In
our view, the actions taken to date have not adequately addressed a
number of significant issues facing the Company, including (i)
continuing consolidation among traditional sources of print advertising
revenue; (ii) the redirection of advertising dollars to other media;
(iii) the Company's unexceptional operating margins; and (iv) the
Company's lack of a nationally read paper capable of being leveraged in
the online market. From the Wall Street Journal: Among
the more aggressive efforts that could be pursued at Knight Ridder are
a shakeup of the board, a change in management or the acquisition of a
majority of the company's voting shares, PCM said in the letter, which
was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. [...]In
the letter, Mr. Sherman said he addressed Knight Ridder's board during
a meeting on July 19 and supports actions taken by the board since
then, such as boosting the company's dividend, stepping up share
repurchases, and announcing staff cuts. But, he added, "during that
same period the company's share price has declined by over 14% from
$62.23 to $53.38." [...]Knight Ridder has been bandied
about has a candidate for a leveraged buyout for months because of its
weak stock price and the fact that, unlike many other newspaper
companies, it isn't family controlled. All links via Romenesko. NOTE: Knight Ridder owns the News-Sentinel and a 75% stake in Fort Wayne Newspapers
Comments
In order to leave a comment, you must also leave your full name and a working email address in the event Fort Wayne Observed contacts you for confirmation. You may request that your email address not be published when your comment is posted.
Anonymous comments or those that include coarse language or personal attacks will not be tolerated.