Posted on 02/06/2006 4:11:57 PM PST by abb
Published: February 06, 2006 10:00 AM ET
NEW YORK Gannett Co. appears to have dropped out as an independent bidder for all of Knight Ridder Inc. and may instead try to join a group seeking to buy the San Jose-based newspaper company, Reuters has reported, citing sources close to the sale process. They say that Gannett skipped a meeting with Knight Ridder this week to go over the company's financial data, a sign it will not bid independently.
Instead, Reuters reported, Gannett may try to forge an agreement with Denver-based publisher MediaNews Group Inc. and its partners. MediaNews has been working on a bid with buyout firms Vestar Capital Partners, Madison Dearborn Partners and Onex Corp.
"MediaNews and Gannett have a close relationship -- the two companies are partners in a range of joint publishing ventures," Reuters explained. "MediaNews' tie-up with the private equity firms shouldn't preclude it from folding Gannett into the mix either before or after a deal is done, sources said, and Gannett's inclusion could help make the group more formidable....
"Gannett is the only prospective suitor that has not met with Knight Ridder's management, sources say. It's possible Gannett could join one of the other bidding factions, though it has few, if any, ties with those groups that compare to its bond with MediaNews.
"The auction for Knight Ridder could become less competitive and attract less lucrative offers without Gannett as a separate bidder, some sources said. But Gannett's commitment to making an offer on its own has wobbled for months. The company signed Knight Ridder's confidentiality agreement weeks after other bidders because it wanted to be able to talk with, and potentially ally with, other factions, sources have said.
"Much of the alliance-jockeying between suitors on any deal comes before they sign confidentiality agreements, because such pacts can strictly limit each bidder's ability to communicate with other parties and forge new partnerships.
"A second round of bids for Knight Ridder is expected to be due late this month, though sources told Reuters last month that Knight Ridder was issuing overly-rosy financial projections during meetings with bidders that caught them by surprise and could delay the process."
Knight Ridder said on Friday that it has postponed its annual shareholder meeting scheduled for April 18, and did not say when the meeting would be rescheduled. E&P Staff (letters@editorandpublisher.com)
Currently we don't have to excerpt Knight Ridder, and we do have severe restrictions on Gannett.
So here's hoping Gannett's bid fails entirely.
That puts a smile on my face every time I see it.
Agreed!
I tired of Gannett. Every time they buy a Paper the quality goes down. Esp as to local and State news with the Sports coverage not far behind.
They spare no expense bad mouthing conservatives in local social and political movements..
And naturally regurgitate their normal national and international screed for home folks as well...making it appear to be the view of the local papers and therefore local folks...when it often as not, is not.
imo
You nailed it on the head. My local rag has been a Gannett paper for decades, but I haven't read it for about 15 years.
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