A deal to sell the newspapers of Tribune Publishing has been approved by the company’s shareholders.
The approval of Alden Global Capital’s $630 million takeover bid came Friday, Tribune said in a statement.
Alden already owned nearly one-third of Tribune, becoming its largest shareholder in 2019.
The deal involves Alden taking full control of nine papers including the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and the New York Daily News.
The hedge fund has a reputation for slashing staff and deep cost-cutting, according to the Washington Post..
Alden owns the Boston Herald, Denver Post and San Jose Mercury News through its Digital First Media chain.
With Tribune, Alden is the second-largest newspaper company in the country, after Gannett.
The Los Angeles Times is owned by California biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong and is unaffected by the sale.
The deal drew opposition from many of the company’s journalists in an unusual spate of employee activism. They set up rallies, tried to find local buyers and begged for a rescue in their own newspapers.
