Philadelphia Newspapers Hedge Fund
Hedge Fund, Buyout Firm Buy Philly's Two Daily Papers
A hedge fund and a private equity firm have collaborated to purchase Philadelphia's two daily newspapers. Angelo Gordon & Co. and Credit Suisse Group won a thirty hour long auction with a bid of $139 million to win control of the
Philadelphia Inquirer and
Philadelphia Daily News. The deal was financed by Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund. Acquisitions of print newspapers are likely to become more common as sinking readership brings down revenue and papers fall into bankruptcy.
The lenders, which include private equity firm Angelo Gordon & Co. and Credit Suisse Group, won the 30 hour auction with a $139 million bid. The offer was financed by hedge fund Alden Global Capital.
The winning bid topped offers from a group led by billionaire Ronald Perelman and another from Canadian investment firm Stern Partners. It must still be approved by a federal bankruptcy judge, with a hearing scheduled for May 25.
The Angelo Gordon-Alden Global group have pledged not to make wholesale job cuts at Philadelphia Newspapers, which owns the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com Web site. But what exactly that means is unclear: PNI’s new bosses say the company will continue to employ 2,500, but the company’s former CEO says it currently employs 4,500. Source
Related to: Philadelphia Newspapers Hedge Fund
Tags: hedge fund, philadelphia inquirer, daily news, print media, ownership, purchase, bankruptcy auction, owners
