CHICAGO _ Gannett announced Tuesday it was pulling its offer for Tronc, ending a six-month pursuit of the Chicago-based company that publishes, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and other newspapers.
A spokesman for Gannett said: "While we have great respect for the Tronc employees and properties, and while we believed that the acquisition would have provided an attractive opportunity to expand the USA Today Network quickly, in the end the terms were not acceptable. ... As we have said before, Gannett will not make acquisitions unless they are accretive to shareholders and the terms make sense for the company."
Tronc said in a news release: "As noted previously, Tronc had serious doubts about Gannett's ability to finance a transaction that was in the best interest of Tronc's shareholders and other stakeholders."
In its statement, Tronc said both sides agreed to a purchase price in mid-September and were working to finalize an acquisition agreement until Gannett ran into financing problems last week.
The agreed-upon price was $18.75 per share, according to sources familiar with the deal.
Last Thursday, trading of Tronc shares was suspended after a report that banks potentially involved in Gannett's effort to acquire the Chicago-based newspaper company had pulled out, sinking the stocks of both companies. Earlier Thursday, Gannett issued a tepid earnings report, and chief executive Bob Dickey said the company was committed to pursuing acquisitions, but ones that made sense.
"We're not just going to add properties for the sake of adding properties," Dickey said on an earnings call with analysts.
