A few weeks ago, New York hedge fund Alden Global Capital LLC was about to acquire Tribune Publishing Co. – home to the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and other US subway newspapers – to take over, with seemingly no one in the way.
It then insulted one of its partners in the deal and sparked a fight that could help shape the future of local news in America.
Stewart Bainum Jr., a Maryland hotel magnate, had come up with a side arrangement with Alden Chief Executive Heath Freeman to buy the Sun, a newspaper Mr. Bainum grew up reading. Then, according to Mr. Bainum, Alden tried to raise the cost of a compensation agreement that would significantly increase the price, people close to the situation said.
Mr. Bainum told his advisers late in the afternoon of Friday, March 12 that he feared he could no longer trust Alden, a person familiar with the matter said.
That night, the 74-year-old called his bankers and decided to try a stunning 11 o’clock move: his own company-wide offer, which he announced towards the end of the weekend.