WP: Shareholder Pressure Leads Knight Ridder to Announce Sale

[DeepModem Mom]

Shareholder Pressure Leads Knight Ridder to Announce Sale
By David A. Vise
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 15, 2005; Page D03


Knight Ridder Inc., which publishes such newspapers as the Philadelphia Inquirer, Miami Herald and San Jose Mercury News, put itself up for sale yesterday under continued pressure from outside shareholders to boost its stock price.

The nation's second-biggest newspaper publisher said it hired Goldman, Sachs & Co. to find a buyer, though it cautioned that a deal may or may not occur. In a sign of the company's seriousness about seeking a buyer, Knight Ridder's board of directors also voted to make it easier for shareholders to submit proposals at the company's 2006 annual meeting, which is tentatively scheduled for the spring.

Analysts said the most likely bidders include the numerous private equity firms that have billions of dollars for acquisitions and major media companies -- with Gannett Co., the New York Times Co. and the Tribune Co. topping the list. Another possibility, analysts said, is that a financial firm could team up with a major newspaper publisher to make a joint offer for Knight Ridder, which is worth $4.4 billion at its current stock price.

Knight Ridder shares traded as high as $65.10 yesterday before closing at $63.10, up 60 cents. The stock has traded as high as $71.02 in the past year. In 2004, the company had $3 billion in revenue and $326.2 million in profit.

The company was put into play early this month after Private Capital Management Inc., a Florida-based investment firm, disclosed that it purchased a 19 percent stake in Knight Ridder, criticized its management and pressured the board of directors to put the giant publisher on the auction block....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/14/AR2005111401363.html