Alden puts its stamp on Tribune with new debt and leadership

Hedge fund Alden Global Capital closed its deal for Tribune on Monday and has installed new leadership and saddled the newspaper chain with $278 million in debt, according to regulatory filings

Hedge fund Alden Global Capital closed its deal for Tribune on Monday. It wasted little time installing new leadership and saddling the newspaper chain with $278 million in debt it took on for the acquisition, according to regulatory filings. Alden, which owns the MediaNews Group newspaper chain and is the second-largest newspaper company by circulation, has a reputation as a ruthless cost-cutter in pursuit of profits. Shifting debt to Tribune's books raises concerns that the publisher would make cost cuts that hurt coverage in the company's communities. Tribune's papers include the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and Hartford Courant. Tribune reporters tweeted Wednesday that the company was offering voluntary buyouts. The union that represents Tribune journalists had warned that Alden would use borrowed money to pay for Tribune, a tactic that would limit its ability to invest in in papers, it said. While Alden had said in December that it could “fully finance the transaction with cash on hand” and “will not require third party debt or equity,” a filing in April noted that Alden had a right to finance up to $375 million with debt. Tribune shareholders on Friday approved the sale to Alden, which valued Tribune at about $637 million. That ended a hard-fought struggle by Tribune's journalists to find alternative local buyers out of fear that Alden ownership would hollow out their papers and prompt more newsroom layoffs.