Newspaper Guild, Yucaipa want more info from McClatchy

Mercury News ^ | 3/24/06 | Pete Carey

[NormsRevenge]

The Newspaper Guild said Friday that its private equity partner, Yucaipa Companies, hasn't been given financial information it wants in order to refine a bid for 12 Knight Ridder newspapers being sold by McClatchy.

The Guild said competitors who earlier entered the bidding for all of Knight Ridder have seen information that others interested in just the 12 papers have not.

Knight Ridder agreed to be purchased by McClatchy in a $4.5 billion deal announced March 13. McClatchy then said it was selling 12 of Knight Ridder's 32 daily newspapers, including the Mercury News.

Yucaipa said it will submit a bid Tuesday for all 12 papers but needs the financial information, and time to study it, to continue ``perfecting''' its bid.

Knight Ridder gave the information to the original bidders for the company -- including McClatchy, MediaNews and Gannett -- which all signed non-disclosure agreements. MediaNews is expected to submit an offer for the 12 papers, and Gannett said Thursday that it is ``taking a look'' at some of them.

McClatchy won't assume control of Knight Ridder until the deal closes in late June or early July, at which point it will simultaneously sell the 12 papers. In the meantime, Knight Ridder is still operating its newspapers and McClatchy is bound by the non-disclosure agreement it signed with Knight Ridder.

Knight Ridder officials could not be reached for comment.

[Brad from Tennessee]

Employee owned and controlled corporations have been tried in the past and usually end in insolvency. When unions take over management of any for-profit enterprise it is probably doomed. You end up with management by committee. The way I read the article that is what the newspaper guild is attempting.