Alden Global Capital
Alden Global Capital is a New York-based hedge fund founded in 2007 that, through MediaNews Group (Digital First Media) and Tribune Publishing, acquired in 2021, became the second-largest newspaper owner in the United States, with titles including The Denver PostThe Denver PostThe Denver Post is a daily newspaper in Denver, Colorado, founded in 1892. Long controlled by the Bonfils family, it has been owned since 1987 by MediaNews Group, later controlled by the hedge fund Alden Global Capital. The paper has won several Pulitzer Prizes, and in 2018 it published editorials openly criticizing its owner’s staff cuts.Open the full entry and the Chicago Tribune. Its deep newsroom cuts have drawn criticism from journalists and unions, while the company has said it is committed to local journalism.
Contents16 sections
Key facts
1985–2007Predecessor and Founding
Founder Randall Smith worked at Bear Stearns and in 1985 founded the bankruptcy trading firm R.D. Smith & Company. Alden Global Capital was founded as its successor in 2007.[1]
January 2011Control of the MediaNews Board
After MediaNews Group’s bankruptcy reorganization left nearly all of its stock with former creditors, Alden acquired a large but not controlling stake, and Alden-linked stockholders came to control the board; founder William Dean Singleton was reassigned as executive chairman.[2]
2016Freedom Communications Purchase
In 2016 Alden’s newspaper group took control of Freedom Communications’ papers through its purchase of the company.[3]
May 2018Digital First Media Censorship Dispute
Digital First Media, controlled by Alden, was then the second-largest newspaper chain in the United States. An editorial by Denver Post editorial page editor Chuck Plunkett, which management declined to run, alleged that the company had demanded at some papers that any mention of it or of Alden be screened by top editors. Digital First chief operating officer Guy Gilmore responded: “No such demand has been made by Digital First Media.”[4]
May 2019Gannett Takeover Fails
In May 2019 Gannett shareholders rejected Alden’s hostile takeover bid. Earlier, the NewsGuild and the Teamsters had written to Gannett shareholders: “We believe that hedge funds in general and Alden in particular have had a destructive impact on the news industry.”[5]
November 2019Largest Tribune Shareholder
From November 2019 Alden held 32% of Tribune Publishing, mostly through buying former nonexecutive chairman Michael Ferro’s shares, making it the largest shareholder.[6]
2020Heath Freeman’s Public Statements
Smith handed control of Alden to Heath Freeman, a protégé and family friend, who became president and ran daily operations. In a letter to Senators Durbin and Duckworth, Freeman wrote: “We share the belief that Americans need and deserve robust local journalism that operates with editorial independence.”[1]
May 24, 2021Tribune Publishing Acquisition Completed
On May 24, 2021, Tribune Publishing completed its merger with Tribune Enterprises, owned by funds for which Alden is investment manager; each common share was converted into $17.25 in cash, the stock was suspended and delisted from Nasdaq, Randall Smith and other directors left the board, and Heath Freeman became a director and president.[7]
The deal was valued at $633 million and brought Alden 10 papers including the Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun and the New York Daily News; Alden already owned MediaNews Group, whose papers include The Denver Post, and became the second-largest U.S. newspaper owner after Gannett.[6]
August 2021Tampa Bay Times Printing Plant
In August 2021 the Tampa Bay Times sold its 27-acre printing plant to Alden’s real estate arm for $21 million.[8]
November 22, 2021Offer for Lee Enterprises
On November 22, 2021, Alden proposed to buy Lee Enterprises for $24 a share in cash, about $141 million in total; Lee’s board unanimously rejected it, and on December 13 Alden sued Lee for rejecting its nomination of three board candidates.[9]
Lee had papers in 77 markets across 26 states. Alden said it was committed to ensuring communities nationwide have access to “robust, independently minded local journalism.”[3]
February 15, 2022Lee Lawsuit Lost
On February 15, 2022, Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will of the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled that an Alden affiliate had missed the nomination deadline and that Lee had followed its bylaws in rejecting the nominations. Alden said it sought to hold directors Mary Junck and Herbert Moloney accountable; a Lee spokesperson said the ruling confirmed the board had acted properly.[10]
Late 2022Greyhound Stations Purchased
In late 2022 Alden subsidiary Twenty Lake Holdings bought 33 Greyhound bus stations from the British company FirstGroup, after which stations in several cities moved out of downtowns. Twenty Lake did not respond to requests for comment.[11]
2024Mobile Home Park Tenant Dispute
In 2024 tenants of mobile home parks in Mercer County, West Virginia, were in a dispute over rent increases and other issues with the parks’ new owner, Homes of America, a business affiliate of Alden; one tenant’s monthly rent rose from $550 to $850.[12]
July–September 2025: Bid for DallasNews
On July 9, 2025, DallasNews Corporation agreed to be acquired by Hearst for $14 a share in cash; on July 23 it confirmed receiving a non-binding proposal of $16.50 a share from MNG Enterprises, an Alden affiliate.[13]
On July 27 Hearst raised its price to $15 a share. On August 19 MNG made a revised proposal of $18.50 a share, which the DallasNews board determined was not a superior proposal.[14]
On September 16 MNG raised its non-binding proposal to $20 a share; the board again rejected it and urged shareholders to accept Hearst’s best and final offer of $16.50 a share.[15]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
The Denver Post: Official website: https://www.denverpost.com/ (opens in a new window)[16]
Sources
- The most feared owner in American journalism looks set to take some of its greatest assets (opens in a new window)
- The shakeup at MediaNews: Why it could be the leadup to a massive newspaper consolidation (opens in a new window)
- The vulture is hungry again: Alden Global Capital wants to buy a few hundred more newspapers (opens in a new window)
- Rejected Denver Post editorial decries ‘outright censorship’ at Digital First papers (opens in a new window)
- Alden Suffers Stinging Defeat in Effort to Take Over Gannett (opens in a new window)
- Hedge fund Alden closes $633 million Tribune Publishing acquisition; newspaper chain is delisted from stock market (opens in a new window)
- Form 8-K (opens in a new window)
- Tampa Bay Times sells printing plant to developer for $21 million (opens in a new window)
- Alden Global Capital takes Lee Enterprises to court over failed board nominations (opens in a new window)
- Alden Global Capital loses lawsuit to nominate its slate of candidates for Lee Enterprises’ board (opens in a new window)
- Greyhound stations are leaving downtowns after sale to notorious investment firm (opens in a new window)
- W.Va. Mobile Home Park Tenants Fight A Media Giant (opens in a new window)
- DallasNews Corporation Confirms Receipt of Unsolicited Non-Binding Acquisition Proposal from MNG Enterprises (opens in a new window)
- DallasNews Rejects Revised Non-Binding Proposal from Affiliate of Alden Global Capital (opens in a new window)
- DallasNews Board Reiterates Recommendation that Shareholders Vote FOR the Hearst Merger (opens in a new window)
- History of Giving - Denver Post Community (opens in a new window)