Tribune Publishing’s Chairman Michael Ferro says ‘We’re not for sale’

Tribune Publishing’s Chairman Michael Ferro says ‘We’re not for sale’

Last month Gannett, the publisher of USA Today made a takeover offer for Tribune Publishing offering it $12.25 a share. The deal included $390 million in debt and was an all-cash deal that Tribune rejected.

Chairman of the Gannett Board of Directors, John Jeffry Louis, said that the rejection by Tribune confirms their board "never intended to engage with us."

Gannett made the bid public to buy Tribune for $815 million last month and thereafter there has been statements from Justin Dearborn, the CEO of Tribune Publishing and Robert Dickey, CEO of Gannett each saying that the other is not willing to negotiate.

On Thursday, Tribune Publishing's chairman, Michael Ferro, said in an interview that newly outlined plans for Chicago-based Tribune in leveraging its digital assets will add more to shareholders vale than what Gannett has offered. He said, "There's no price. We're not for sale. We'll always listen to everybody but we're not for sale."

Stocks of Tribune Publishing moved up a penny on Thursday closing at $11.03. Some analysts opine that shareholder pressure is mounting on the company to hold negotiations with Gannett. They predict that a higher offer may be $18 per share could be good enough to consider the sale.