The Gannett Company decided to take its bid to buy Tribune Publishing Group public on Monday after the owner of The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times reportedly rebuffed its initial private offer. Gannett, which owns USA Today, is offering to buy Tribune Publishing for $815 million, including its debt. The deal, which is for $12.25 a share, would be a 63 percent premium on its closing stock price on Friday, which was $7.52.
While Gannett says that Tribune Publishing refused to "begin constructive discussions," Tribune Publishing said it had told Gannett it was working on getting financial and legal advisers in place to review the proposal. Tribune Publishing assured Gannett in a statement Monday morning that it would respond "as quickly as feasible."
Since Gannett's proposal went public Monday morning, Tribune Publishing stock jumped 55 percent.
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