Alden sues Lee after news publisher rejects its takeover bid
ABC News
The Alden Global Capital hedge fund stepped up its efforts to buy Lee Enterprises this week by filing a lawsuit against the newspaper publisher accusing Lee’s board of improperly denying shareholders the chance to have a say on its takeover offer
The Alden Global Capital hedge fund stepped up its attempts to buy Lee Enterprises this week, filing a lawsuit that accuses its board of denying shareholders of the newspaper publisher a voice in the matter.
The publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Buffalo News and dozens of other newspapers rejected Alden's offer to buy the company for $24 a share, or roughly $141 million, last Thursday calling the bid, “grossly undervalued.”
Alden argued in the lawsuit filed Wednesday that Lee shouldn't have rejected its offer without even talking to the hedge fund. Alden also said Lee shouldn't have refused to accept its nomination of three outside directors for technical reasons and has asked the court to order Lee to accept those nominees.
“Lee’s stockholder-unfriendly staggered board has exhibited all of the symptoms of severely entrenched leadership focused more on its own power than what’s best for the company,” Alden spokesperson Cameron Gurley said.
