Hedge fund Alden in hunt for another big newspaper chain

By TALI ARBEL
AP Technology Writer

Hedge fund Alden Global Capital, one of the country’s largest newspaper owners with a reputation for intense cost cuts and layoffs, has offered to buy the local newspaper chain Lee Enterprises for about $141 million. Alden said in a Monday press release that it sent Lee’s board a letter with the offer. It already owns 6% of Lee’s stock and is proposing to buy the rest for $24 a share. A Lee spokesperson did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Lee’s papers include the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Buffalo News, along with dozens of smaller papers.