McClatchy bid to buy Tribune Publishing reportedly falls apart

The McClatchy Co. bid to buy Tribune Publishing — owner of the Chicago Tribune, the Baltimore Sun, and the struggling Daily News — has reportedly broken down.

Or at least the chance to talk exclusively has expired. Tribune is now meeting with other potential buyers, according to Bloomberg, which first reported Thursday that the talks ended without a deal. No reason was given.

One source close to McClatchy said he felt that Tribune’s ex-chairman Michael Ferro, who still owns 26.5 percent of the stock, opposed a deal and caused it to unravel.

But others close to Tribune shot that down, saying they believed McClatchy was having trouble coming up with the financing.

Originally, there was speculation that McClatchy’s bid would come in around $18 a share. But given the steady migration downward of the stock in recent weeks from the six-month high of $16.60 it hit on Nov. 5, it seemed that Wall Street anticipated a price several dollars below that amount as the talks seemed to drag on.

The Tribune stock hit a 52-week low in intra-day trading Tuesday and closed on Thursday at $13.58, down 1.6 percent.

The latest development would seem to clear the way for the Donerail Group, headed by former Starboard manager Will Wyatt to climb back into the ring.

He is also said to have secured backing from AIM Media, headed by former Sun Times CEO Jeremy Halbreich. Wyatt is known to be pursuing a “buy it to bust it up” strategy — so even if he is the winning bidder, it seems Tribune will be in for more upheaval either way in the months ahead.

On the local front for Tribune, the Daily News price hike seems to have triggered a hemorrhage in its circulation. The Alliance for Audited Media reported the Monday to Friday circulation tumbled 19.9 percent in September, to 147,676, while Sunday collapsed 20.2 percent, to 208,259.