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Fun Friday thread: Ever since Tribune Publishing agreed to be acquired for $630m this week, chatter has resurfaced surrounding the motives of Alden Capital, the mysterious hedge fund behind the deal. https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-tribune-publishing-alden-sale-20210216-jacw2c6a6beu3akpbnemlp5cxa-story.html
why it’s so interesting: Alden and its founder Heath Freeman have acquired over TWO HUNDRED newspapers over the years. Critics have called him “the Grim Reaper” because of his slash-and-burn cost-cutting methods once he takes over a newsroom, aka firing a lot of people.
But for a guy forever changing the newspaper industry, (this latest deal makes his one of the largest paper chains in the world in terms of circulation!) Little is known about the notoriously private hedge fund. Just look at its bare-bones website. https://aldenglobal.com/
I did find this pic of him doing pilates at the New York fitness studio he co-founded, SLT, but that’s about it for the man singlehandedly transforming journalism as we know it. https://www.instagram.com/p/BXAi5POAfN5/ His online presence is super low key.
But Freeman says his tough-love takeover style is necessary since local news is a seriously struggling industry. He talks to the FT’s @JFK_America and @annaknicolaou here: https://www.ft.com/content/5c22075c-f1af-431d-bf39-becf9c54758b
The big question: What’s he going to do with all those newspapers? Rupert Murdoch might hold the answers. The Aussie mogul just got Google to pay for his sprawling empire of content.
@benyt already uncovered that Freeman was considering such a plan as early as last year https://twitter.com/benyt/status/1255964149210808331
But does Heath Freeman have the dealmaking chops to rival THE Rupert Murdoch? And what could happen if one hedge fund gets to control the vast chunk of the local news galaxy? Stay tuned. https://www.ft.com/content/866e1b53-a13b-4ddc-9c6e-e50d27850d8b
