Latest in Tribune Publishing

The book appears to be all but closed on the Michael Ferro era at Tribune Publishing. The executive and his Merrick Ventures have sold a 25.2% stake in Tribune to Alden Global Capital, making the New York-based hedge fund Tribune’s largest shareholder. Along with the nearly $118 million deal for 9.1 million shares…

ICM Partners has hired former Tribune Publishing chairman and CEO Justin Dearborn as its chief operating officer, effective today. Dearborn was introduced this morning during the agency’s weekly staff meeting. At ICM, Mr. Dearborn will report to Chris Silbermann, managing director of ICM Partners, and be in charge of…

Publishers were coming and going today at two major media outlets. Tribune Publishing Chief Executive Justin Dearborn stepped down after three years, the newspaper company announced Thursday. Chicago newspaper executive Tim Knight was named CEO. He was formerly president of the company and will also join the Tribune…

A little more than two years after Tribune Publishing Co. now infamously changed its name to the Wall Street collective head-scratcher tronc, Inc., the company is officially changing its name back. The Chicago-based publishing company will resume trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol TPCO, replacing TRNC, on October…

The stock price for Los Angeles Times parent Tribune Publishing is up 1.5% to about $13.20 in pre-market trading this morning after Gannett said that it will keep its $864 million buyout offer in place. The $15 a share bid will stand as the USA Today owner “evaluates various near-term developments, including the…

Just how bad was the decision by Los Angeles Times parent Tribune Publishing to rebrand itself Tronc — short for “Tribune online content”? (It uses a lower case “t,” but we capitalize proper nouns.) The initial consensus: Pretty bad. Twitter users widely and roundly mocked the clunky, pretentious, and just plain…

This isn’t a joke. Following its annual shareholder meeting today, the owner of the Los Angeles Times said that on June 20 it will no longer be called Tribune Publishing. The new name is: Tronc Inc. (It uses a lower case “t,” but our style capitalizes proper nouns.) The company describes itself now as “a content…

Updated with Gannett response, 12:45 PM: Looks like Tribune Publishing just narrowly avoided a potentially embarrassing vote by unaffiliated shareholders to symbolically support sale talks with Gannett. Although the official tally from today’s annual meeting still isn’t out, Gannett figures that 49% of those not tied…

Here’s the latest blow to Gannett’s $864 million offer to buy Tribune Publishing: Two of the leading investor advisory firms — Glass, Lewis & Co., and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) — urge Tribune investors to reject a protest effort that the owner of USA Today has proposed for next week’s annual…

UPDATE with Gannett’s response: For the second time, Los Angeles Times owner Tribune Publishing Company has rejected Gannett Company's $15-per-share takeover bid. The door isn’t closed, however. Tribune, which also owns the Chicago Tribune and the Baltimore Sun, said Monday that it was open to further discussion. In a…

Seems that Tribune Publishing Chairman Michael Ferro wants to turn the tables on Gannett by making an offer to buy the owner of USA Today, respected industry watcher Ken Doctor writes today in PoliticoMedia. Ferro reportedly told five dozen Los Angeles Times sales employees on Tuesday that “I have lawyers working on…

Updated with Tribune Publishing response: Gannett apparently still believes that Tribune Publishing’s shareholders can pressure it to make a deal — even after the company adopted a poison pill takeover defense. The owner of USA Today this morning raised its offer for the owner of the Los Angeles Times by 22.5% to $15…