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Alden Global Capital

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120-533: Alden Global Capital is a hedge fund based in Manhattan , New York City. It was founded in 2007 by Randall D. Smith , and is a division of Smith Management LLC. Its managing director is Heath Freeman . By mid-2020, Alden had stakes in roughly two hundred American newspapers. The company added more newspapers to its portfolio in May 2021 when it purchased Tribune Publishing and became the second-largest newspaper publisher in

240-414: A bull market , distressed investing works best during a bear market . Risk arbitrage or merger arbitrage includes such events as mergers , acquisitions, liquidations, and hostile takeovers . Risk arbitrage typically involves buying and selling the stocks of two or more merging companies to take advantage of market discrepancies between acquisition price and stock price. The risk element arises from

360-439: A counterparty to derivative contracts , and lends securities for particular investment strategies, such as long/short equities and convertible bond arbitrage . It can provide custodial services for the fund's assets, and trade execution and clearing services for the hedge fund manager. Hedge fund administrators are typically responsible for valuation services, and often operations , and accounting . Calculation of

480-1000: A lack of transparency . Another common perception of hedge funds is that their managers are not subject to as much regulatory oversight and/or registration requirements as other financial investment managers, and more prone to manager-specific idiosyncratic risks such as style drifts, faulty operations, or fraud. New regulations introduced in the US and the EU as of 2010 required hedge fund managers to report more information, leading to greater transparency. In addition, investors, particularly institutional investors, are encouraging further developments in hedge fund risk management, both through internal practices and external regulatory requirements. The increasing influence of institutional investors has led to greater transparency: hedge funds increasingly provide information to investors including valuation methodology, positions, and leverage exposure. Hedge funds share many of

600-535: A "fundamental growth" strategy invest in companies with more earnings growth than the overall stock market or relevant sector, while funds using a " fundamental value " strategy invest in undervalued companies. Funds that use quantitative and financial signal processing techniques for equity trading are described as using a "quantitative directional" strategy. Funds using a " short bias " strategy take advantage of declining equity prices using short positions. Event-driven strategies concern situations in which

720-486: A 2008 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission , Alden is a division of Smith Management LLC. The company has its origins in R.D. Smith & Company, a firm founded by Randall Duncan Smith, initially using the $ 20,000 cash prize he and his wife won on the 1968-1970 gameshow Dream House . In 1991, The New York Times described R.D. Smith & Company's business as "profiting from other people's misery by trading

840-440: A CTA from a regulatory perspective and the main divide is between systematic and discretionary strategies. A classification framework for CTA/Macro Strategies can be found in the reference. Directional investment strategies use market movements, trends, or inconsistencies when picking stocks across a variety of markets. Computer models can be used, or fund managers will identify and select investments. These types of strategies have

960-399: A biased agenda." The memo additionally claimed that editorial content is the least-read content in the papers while being the most likely reason someone gives for cancelling a subscription. In March 2024, the company announced that effective March 25, it would end its legacy Associated Press premium subscription, meaning it would no longer pay to publish AP dispatches, photos and video from

1080-431: A computerized system, known as "systematic/quantitative". The amount of diversification within the fund can vary; funds may be multi-strategy, multi-fund, multi-market, multi-manager, or a combination. Sometimes hedge fund strategies are described as " absolute return " and are classified as either " market neutral " or "directional". Market neutral funds have less correlation to overall market performance by "neutralizing"

1200-525: A former paperboy who accused the company of enabling a former district manager to sexually abuse him in the 1980s. In late 2018 as Gannett was seeking partners for a merger, fending off a hostile takeover and its stock fell, this former paperboy emailed investigative reporters and Gannett management asking them to investigate his claims. In response, Karen Magnuson, then Executive Editor for Gannett's Democrat and Chronicle , told reporters to put their investigative reporting of abuse claims on "pause", and brought

1320-521: A fund has too much exposure to a particular investment, sector, trading strategy, or group of correlated funds. These risks may be managed through defined controls over conflict of interest , restrictions on allocation of funds, and set exposure limits for strategies. Many investment funds use leverage , the practice of borrowing money, trading on margin , or using derivatives to obtain market exposure in excess of that provided by investors' capital. Although leverage can increase potential returns,

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1440-446: A fund manager "drifting" away from an area of specific expertise, manager risk factors include valuation risk , capacity risk, concentration risk , and leverage risk . Valuation risk refers to the concern that the net asset value (NAV) of investments may be inaccurate; capacity risk can arise from placing too much money into one particular strategy, which may lead to fund performance deterioration; and concentration risk may arise if

1560-466: A good year. Earnings at the very top are higher than in any other sector of the financial industry, and collectively the top 25 hedge fund managers regularly earn more than all 500 of the chief executives in the S&;P 500 . Most hedge fund managers are remunerated much less, however, and if performance fees are not earned then small managers at least are unlikely to be paid significant amounts. In 2011,

1680-448: A government-approved third-party that would be barred from entering into any agreements with Gannett, in order to fully preserve competition in advertising sales with Gannett-owned KSDK. The deal was approved by the FCC on December 20, and it was completed on December 23. On February 28, 2014, Meredith Corporation officially took over full control of KMOV. On May 14, 2014, Gannett announced

1800-403: A greater appetite for risk , with the intention of maximizing returns, subject to the risk tolerance of investors and the fund manager. Managers will have an additional incentive to increase risk oversight when their own capital is invested in the fund. Hedge fund management firms typically charge their funds both a management fee and a performance fee . Management fees are calculated as

1920-604: A greater exposure to the fluctuations of the overall market than do market neutral strategies. Directional hedge fund strategies include US and international long/short equity hedge funds, where long equity positions are hedged with short sales of equities or equity index options . Within directional strategies, there are a number of sub-strategies. " Emerging markets " funds focus on emerging markets such as China and India, whereas "sector funds" specialize in specific areas including technology, healthcare, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, energy, and basic materials. Funds using

2040-439: A large amount of flexibility (due to their ability to use leverage to take large positions in diverse investments in multiple markets), the timing of the implementation of the strategies is important in order to generate attractive, risk-adjusted returns. Global macro is often categorized as a directional investment strategy. Global macro strategies can be divided into discretionary and systematic approaches. Discretionary trading

2160-457: A large chain, a 20th-century trend that helped the newspaper industry remain financially viable. In April 1957, Paul Miller succeeded Frank Gannett as president and CEO when the group held 19 newspapers over four states; Florida not among them. Miller became frustrated after repeated unsuccessful attempts to acquire a foothold in Florida, then targeted Brevard County . He spoke to Marie Holderman,

2280-445: A management fee of 2% on total assets and a 20% fee on realized gains. In the 1970s, hedge funds specialized in a single strategy with most fund managers following the long/short equity model. Many hedge funds closed during the recession of 1969–1970 and the 1973–1974 stock market crash due to heavy losses. They received renewed attention in the late 1980s. During the 1990s, the number of hedge funds increased significantly with

2400-400: A manager is only rewarded if the fund generates returns in excess of the returns that the investor would have received if they had invested their money elsewhere. Some hedge funds charge a redemption fee (or withdrawal fee) for early withdrawals during a specified period of time (typically a year), or when withdrawals exceed a predetermined percentage of the original investment. The purpose of

2520-422: A manager will sometimes close a fund that has suffered serious losses and start a new fund, rather than attempt to recover the losses over a number of years without a performance fee. Some performance fees include a " hurdle ", so that a fee is only paid on the fund's performance in excess of a benchmark rate ( e.g. , LIBOR ) or a fixed percentage. The hurdle is usually tied to a benchmark rate such as Libor or

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2640-400: A percentage of the fund's net asset value and typically range from 1% to 4% per annum, with 2% being standard. They are usually expressed as an annual percentage, but calculated and paid monthly or quarterly. Management fees for hedge funds are designed to cover the operating costs of the manager, whereas the performance fee provides the manager's profits. However, due to economies of scale

2760-665: A position based on the predicted movement of the security or securities in question. Large institutional investors such as hedge funds are more likely to pursue event-driven investing strategies than traditional equity investors because they have the expertise and resources to analyze corporate transactional events for investment opportunities. Corporate transactional events generally fit into three categories: distressed securities , risk arbitrage , and special situations . Distressed securities include such events as restructurings, recapitalizations , and bankruptcies . A distressed securities investment strategy involves investing in

2880-535: A salary $ 900,000 and long term stock incentives adding to a total of $ 7.7 million in 2021, the first full year after the merger. The total compensation was estimated with Gannett stock valued at the then current price. During Reed's tenure, Gannett stock has fallen 70%, reducing the value of future equity incentive plan awards. Gannett was sued in October 2019 under the New York State Child Victim's Act by

3000-590: A share in cash, or about $ 141 million. Lee owns daily newspapers in 77 markets in 26 states, and about 350 weekly and specialty publications. Newspapers in Alden's portfolio include Chicago Tribune , The Denver Post , the St. Paul Pioneer Press , the Boston Herald , The Mercury News , East Bay Times , The Orange County Register , and Orlando Sentinel . Alden has a reputation for sharply cutting costs by reducing

3120-410: A single strategy or multiple strategies for flexibility, risk management , or diversification. The hedge fund's prospectus , also known as an offering memorandum , offers potential investors information about key aspects of the fund, including the fund's investment strategy, investment type, and leverage limit. The elements contributing to a hedge fund strategy include the hedge fund's approach to

3240-627: A state of maturity that is consolidating around the larger, more established firms such as Citadel, Elliot, Millennium, Bridgewater, and others. The rate of new fund start ups is now outpaced by fund closings. In July 2017, hedge funds recorded their eighth consecutive monthly gain in returns with assets under management rising to a record $ 3.1 trillion. Hedge fund strategies are generally classified among four major categories: global macro , directional, event-driven , and relative value ( arbitrage ). Strategies within these categories each entail characteristic risk and return profiles. A fund may employ

3360-401: A strategy based on predicting the final approval of new pharmaceutical drugs ; and legal catalyst strategy, which specializes in companies involved in major lawsuits. Relative value arbitrage strategies take advantage of relative discrepancies in price between securities. The price discrepancy can occur due to mispricing of securities compared to related securities, the underlying security or

3480-496: A substantial portion of the asset management industry, with assets totaling around $ 3.8 trillion as of 2021. The word "hedge", meaning a line of bushes around the perimeter of a field, has long been used as a metaphor for placing limits on risk. Early hedge funds sought to hedge specific investments against general market fluctuations by shorting other, similar assets. Nowadays, however, many different investment strategies are used, many of which do not "hedge" risk. During

3600-695: A time, though Tegna has since moved to a new 440,000-square-foot office tower nearby, occupying roughly 60,000 square feet. On October 7, 2015, Gannett struck a deal to buy the Journal Media Group for $ 280 million, giving it control of publications in over 100 markets in the Midwestern and Southern U.S. Similar to what Gannett had earlier done with its broadcasting assets, the Milwaukee -based Journal had separated its publishing and broadcasting arms in April 2015, with

3720-602: Is carried out by investment managers who identify and select investments, whereas systematic trading is based on mathematical models and executed by software with limited human involvement beyond the programming and updating of the software. These strategies can also be divided into trend or counter-trend approaches depending on whether the fund attempts to profit from following market trend (long or short-term) or attempts to anticipate and profit from reversals in trends. Within global macro strategies, there are further sub-strategies including "systematic diversified", in which

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3840-666: Is common for hedge fund investment strategies to aim to achieve a positive return on investment regardless of whether markets are rising or falling (" absolute return "). Hedge funds can be considered risky investments; the expected returns of some hedge fund strategies are less volatile than those of retail funds with high exposure to stock markets because of the use of hedging techniques. Research in 2015 showed that hedge fund activism can have significant real effects on target firms, including improvements in productivity and efficient reallocation of corporate assets. Moreover, these interventions often lead to increased labor productivity, although

3960-670: Is owned by the Japanese conglomerate Softbank . Apollo Global Management funded the acquisition with a $ 1.792 billion loan. Although GateHouse was the nominal survivor, the combined company took the better-known Gannett name. Michael E. Reed, the CEO of GateHouse's parent company, was named CEO. The new management team immediately announced it would target "inefficiencies", which could lead to cutbacks at newspapers and reduction in newspaper staff. Gannett's board of directors, which does not include anyone with journalism background, paid CEO Mike Reed

4080-550: Is reduced but cannot be eliminated. According to a report by the Hennessee Group, hedge funds were approximately one-third less volatile than the S&P 500 between 1993 and 2010. Investors in hedge funds are, in most countries, required to be qualified investors who are assumed to be aware of the investment risks , and accept these risks because of the potential returns relative to those risks. Fund managers may employ extensive risk management strategies in order to protect

4200-918: Is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. It owns the national newspaper USA Today , as well as several local newspapers, including the Austin American-Statesman ; Detroit Free Press ; The Indianapolis Star ; The Cincinnati Enquirer ; The Columbus Dispatch ; The Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville, Florida ; The Tallahassee Democrat in Tallahassee, Florida ; The Tennessean in Nashville, Tennessee ; The Daily News Journal , in Murfreesboro, Tennessee ; The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky ;

4320-505: Is the major case relating to fund administrator liability for failure to handle its NAV-related obligations properly. There, the hedge fund administrator and other defendants settled in 2016 by paying the Anwar investor plaintiffs $ 235 million. Gannett Gannett Co., Inc. ( / ɡ ə ˈ n ɛ t / ) is an American mass media holding company headquartered in New York City . It

4440-915: The Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, New York ; The Des Moines Register ; the El Paso Times ; The Arizona Republic in Phoenix, Arizona ; The News-Press in Fort Myers, Florida ; the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ; the Argus Leader , the Pueblo Chieftain, and the Great Falls Tribune . In 2015, Gannett split into two publicly traded companies, one focusing on newspapers and publishing and

4560-700: The Poughkeepsie Journal , founded in Poughkeepsie, New York in 1785, and The Leaf-Chronicle founded in Clarksville, Tennessee in 1808. In 1984, John Curley was appointed president and COO. In 1985, Curley became CEO and continued as president. The company was headquartered in Rochester until 1986, when it moved to Arlington County, Virginia . Its former headquarters building, the Gannett Building ,

4680-479: The 1990s stock market rise , the aligned-interest compensation structure ( i.e. , common financial interests), and the promise of above average returns as likely causes. Over the next decade, hedge fund strategies expanded to include credit arbitrage, distressed debt , fixed income , quantitative , and multi-strategy. US institutional investors , such as pension and endowment funds , began allocating greater portions of their portfolios to hedge funds. During

4800-564: The 2018 midterm elections in the United States, meaning that next-day newspapers would no longer contain the election's results, instead directing readers to the Internet. In January 2019, Digital First Media (DFM) made an unsolicited bid to acquire Gannett for $ 1.36 billion, but it was rejected for being undervalued. In an attempt to pursue a hostile takeover , DFM built up a 7.5% stake of Gannett's public shares. Gannett subsequently accused

4920-542: The AP Stylebook . Gannet's contract with AP was set to expire at the end of 2024. It is unclear why the company ended the agreement early or how much it was paying AP. In the second quarter of 2022, Gannett's revenue was $ 749 million, sustaining a loss of $ 54 million. In reaction to the news, the company announced, "In the coming days, we will be making necessary but painful reductions to staffing, eliminating some open positions and roles that will impact valued colleagues." At

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5040-460: The E. W. Scripps Company acquiring the television and radio properties owned by the former's technical predecessor Journal Communications and spinning out their respective publishing operations into Journal Media Group. In December 2015, Gannett announced that its local newspapers would be branded as the "USA Today Network", signifying a closer association with the national USA Today paper. In April 2016, Gannett made an unsolicited bid to acquire

5160-599: The News-Press website. The practice has spread throughout the chain. In 2010, Gannett increased executive salaries and bonuses; for example, Bob Dickey, Gannett's U.S. newspapers division president, was paid $ 3.4 million in 2010, up from $ 1.9 million the previous year. The next year, the company laid off 700 U.S. employees to cut costs. In the memo announcing the layoffs, Dickey wrote, "While we have sought many ways to reduce costs, I regret to tell you that we will not be able to avoid layoffs." On March 7, 2011, Gannett replaced

5280-650: The Oakland Tribune and The Cincinnati Enquirer , seven television stations, 13 radio stations, as well as an outdoor advertising division, for $ 370 million. The outdoor advertising became known as Gannett Outdoor, before being acquired by Outdoor Systems (previously a division of 3M), before the company was sold to Infinity Broadcasting , which later became part of Viacom , and was part of CBS Corporation , until 2014 when CBS Outdoor went independent and became Outfront Media . The News Journal in Wilmington, Delaware

5400-558: The Phoenix, Arizona community for enabling its employees to sexually abuse them in the late 1970s. As the New York state window to file under its Childs Victim Act closed in August 2021, another man sued Gannett in Rochester, New York, alleging child sex abuse by the same former district manager of paperboys. This latest case brings the total to eleven men who are suing Gannett for enabling sexual abuse of former paperboys, some as young as eleven at

5520-541: The Star Advocate to Gannett for $ 1 million. Neuharth started Today in Cocoa, which eventually became Florida Today . By June 1966, paid subscriptions were 33,000, far exceeding their goal of 20,000 by the end of the year. The paper became profitable in 1968 after just 33 months. Miller was succeeded by Al Neuharth in 1973. In 1978, Gannett acquired Combined Communications Corp., operator of 2 major daily newspapers,

5640-579: The Tribune Publishing Company for $ 12.25 per-share, or around $ 400 million. This deal was rejected by Tribune's shareholders in May 2016; in turn, Gannett increased its offer to around $ 15 per-share (around $ 800 million). Although the two companies held talks during the summer and into the fall of 2016, disappointing earning reports for Gannett for the second and third quarters of 2016 caused Gannett to pull out of talks on November 1. Gannett announced it would not be delaying print deadlines for

5760-408: The net asset value ("NAV") by the administrator, including the pricing of securities at current market value and calculation of the fund's income and expense accruals, is a core administrator task, because it is the price at which investors buy and sell shares in the fund. The accurate and timely calculation of NAV by the administrator is vital. The case of Anwar v. Fairfield Greenwich (SDNY 2015)

5880-703: The 1,226 people on the Forbes World's Billionaires List for 2012, 36 of the financiers listed "derived significant chunks" of their wealth from hedge fund management. Among the richest 1,000 people in the United Kingdom, 54 were hedge fund managers, according to the Sunday Times Rich List for 2012. A portfolio manager risks losing his past compensation if he or she engages in insider trading . In Morgan Stanley v. Skowron , 989 F. Supp. 2d 356 (S.D.N.Y. 2013), applying New York's faithless servant doctrine,

6000-540: The Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court. The nine plaintiff cases remain pending action by Judge Chimes and her court. In March 2020, Gannett announced that due to COVID-19 , it will be forced to make a series of cuts and furloughs. Executives would also take a 25% reduction in salary. In April 2022, a committee of Gannett editors made the formal recommendation that newspapers in

6120-583: The Gannett and Sander stations in retransmission consent negotiations, anti-media-consolidation groups (such as Free Press ) and pay television providers (such as Time Warner Cable and DirecTV ) have called for the FCC to block the acquisition. On December 16, 2013, the United States Department of Justice announced that Gannett, Belo, and Sander would need to divest Belo's station in St. Louis , KMOV , to

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6240-557: The March 2022 board elections. This attempt also failed, as shareholders returned both directors to the Lee board despite Alden's opposition. Alden Global Capital includes a real estate division called Twenty Lake Holdings, which primarily buys excess real estate from newspapers. In 2019, Twenty Lake Holdings reported that it had acquired about 180 properties with 2.3 million square feet of real estate in 29 states. In December 2022, Twenty Lake acquired

6360-635: The US bull market of the 1920s, there were numerous private investment vehicles available to wealthy investors. Of that period, the best known today is the Graham-Newman Partnership, founded by Benjamin Graham and his long-time business partner Jerry Newman. This was cited by Warren Buffett in a 2006 letter to the Museum of American Finance as an early hedge fund, and based on other comments from Buffett, Janet Tavakoli deems Graham's investment firm

6480-436: The United States and Europe following the financial crisis of 2007–2008 with the intention of increasing government oversight of hedge funds and eliminating certain regulatory gaps. While most modern hedge funds are able to employ a wide variety of financial instruments and risk management techniques, they can be very different from each other with respect to their strategies, risks, volatility and expected return profile. It

6600-547: The United States collectively held $ 1.335 trillion. In April 2012, the hedge fund industry reached a record high of US$ 2.13 trillion total assets under management. In the middle of the 2010s, the hedge fund industry experienced a general decline in the "old guard" fund managers. Dan Loeb called it a "hedge fund killing field" due to the classic long/short falling out of favor because of unprecedented easing by central banks . The US stock market correlation became untenable to short sellers . The hedge fund industry today has reached

6720-686: The United States, financial regulations require that hedge funds be marketed only to institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals . Hedge funds are considered alternative investments . Their ability to use leverage and more complex investment techniques distinguishes them from regulated investment funds available to the retail market, commonly known as mutual funds and ETFs . They are also considered distinct from private equity funds and other similar closed-end funds as hedge funds generally invest in relatively liquid assets and are usually open-ended . This means they typically allow investors to invest and withdraw capital periodically based on

6840-504: The United States. The company operates its media holdings through Digital First Media (DFM), which it acquired in 2010 after DMG's parent company, MediaNews Group , declared bankruptcy. With its acquisition of Tribune Publishing in late May 2021, Alden is collectively the second-largest owner of newspapers in the United States, as calculated by average daily print circulation, second only to Gannett . In November 2021, Alden Global Capital made an offer to purchase Lee Enterprises for $ 24

6960-792: The acquisition of six stations from the Texas -based London Broadcasting Company in a $ 215 million deal, including KCEN-TV (NBC) in Waco-Temple-Bryan, KYTX (CBS) in Tyler - Longview , KIII (ABC) in Corpus Christi , KBMT (ABC/NBC) in Beaumont - Port Arthur , KXVA (FOX) in Abilene - Sweetwater and KIDY (FOX) in San Angelo . The company's COO Phil Hurley will also join Gannett to continue his leadership role at

7080-426: The benefits may not fully accrue to workers in terms of increased wages or work hours. A hedge fund usually pays its investment manager a management fee (typically, 2% per annum of the net asset value of the fund) and a performance fee (typically, 20% of the increase in the fund's net asset value during a year). Hedge funds have existed for many decades and have become increasingly popular. They have now grown to be

7200-587: The board of Lee Enterprises enacted a shareholder rights plan, colloquially known as a "poison pill" , in order to ward off the purchase attempt. The specific shareholder rights plan adopted by the Lee board forbids Alden from purchasing more than 10% of the company, and will be in force for one year. The rationale offered by the board was, “Consistent with its fiduciary duties, Lee’s Board has taken this action to ensure our shareholders receive fair treatment, full transparency and protection in connection with Alden’s unsolicited proposal to acquire Lee." In early December,

7320-475: The board of Lee unanimously rejected the Alden bid, saying that the Alden proposal "grossly undervalues Lee and fails to recognize the strength of our business today." Shortly thereafter, Alden Global, through its operating unit Strategic Investment Opportunities, filed a lawsuit in state court in Delaware against Lee Enterprises. The Alden lawsuit asserts that the members of the Lee board "have every reason to maintain

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7440-479: The bonds or loans of companies facing bankruptcy or severe financial distress, when these bonds or loans are being traded at a discount to their value. Hedge fund managers pursuing the distressed debt investment strategy aim to capitalize on depressed bond prices. Hedge funds purchasing distressed debt may prevent those companies from going bankrupt, as such an acquisition deters foreclosure by banks. While event-driven investing, in general, tends to thrive during

7560-405: The chain should significantly pare back the opinion material that newspapers traditionally publish on their editorial pages, including editorials, op-ed columns, syndicated columns and editorial cartoons. According to the company-wide memo, "Readers don't want us to tell them what to think. They don't believe we have the expertise to tell anyone what to think on most issues. They perceive us as having

7680-429: The company announced that it would buy out the remainder of Classified Ventures —a joint venture between Gannett and several other media companies, for $ 1.8 billion, giving it full ownership of properties such as Cars.com . On April 21, 2015, Gannett announced that the publishing arm would continue to use the Gannett name, while the broadcasting and digital company would be named Tegna —an anagram of Gannett. The split

7800-461: The company of engaging in a proxy fight . After a failed attempt to place three DFM nominees on Gannett's board of directors through a proxy vote on May 16, 2019, DFM sold shares lowering their ownership to 4.2%. On August 5, 2019, New Media Investment Group, parent of GateHouse Media , announced that it would acquire Gannett. New Media Investment Group is managed and controlled by another private equity firm, Fortress Investment Group . Fortress

7920-541: The court held that a hedge fund's portfolio manager engaging in insider trading in violation of his company's code of conduct, which also required him to report his misconduct, must repay his employer the full $ 31 million his employer paid him as compensation during his period of faithlessness. The court called the insider trading the "ultimate abuse of a portfolio manager's position". The judge also wrote: "In addition to exposing Morgan Stanley to government investigations and direct financial losses, Skowron's behavior damaged

8040-609: The effect of market swings whereas directional funds utilize trends and inconsistencies in the market and have greater exposure to the market's fluctuations. Hedge funds using a global macro investing strategy take large positions in share, bond, or currency markets in anticipation of global macroeconomic events in order to generate a risk-adjusted return . Global macro fund managers use macroeconomic ("big picture") analysis based on global market events and trends to identify opportunities for investment that would profit from anticipated price movements. While global macro strategies have

8160-821: The email to the attention of Gannett's management to conduct their own investigation. Gannett chief operating officer Michael G. Kane sent the original claimant a letter indicating no evidence had been found and they were "closing out" the matter. A few months later New York passed its Child Victim Act lifting statute of limitations on child sex abuse claims. This initial case is currently pending. Four more lawsuits were filed in February 2020 and are pending. Additionally, three more men filed suit against Gannett for child sex abuse in September 2020 and April 2021; these cases are all pending too. In December 2020, Gannett and its Arizona Republic newspaper were sued by two former paperboys in

8280-437: The end of August, the company announced that it was laying off 3% of its United States workforce, which was about 400 employees. At this announcement, Gannett also said they would not be filling 400 open positions. At the time of the announcement, Gannett stock, which was already down about 45% on the year, fell an additional 28.5%. In October, the company announced the second round of financial austerity steps. These included

8400-590: The fact that the Workers Compensation Board has no mechanism to consider this question of justice and legal rights, as the Board is tasked by the state of New York solely to: " administer workers’ compensation, disability benefits and Paid Family Leave. " On July 26, 2024, this demand of Gannett, received and accepted fully by Judge Deborah Chimes, was reversed , by the Fourth Judicial Department of

8520-431: The fee is to discourage short-term investing, reduce turnover, and deter withdrawals after periods of poor performance. Unlike management fees and performance fees, redemption fees are usually kept by the fund and redistributed to all investors. Hedge fund management firms are often owned by their portfolio managers , who are therefore entitled to any profits that the business makes. As management fees are intended to cover

8640-540: The firm's operating costs, performance fees (and any excess management fees) are generally distributed to the firm's owners as profits. Funds do not tend to report compensation, and so published lists of the amounts earned by top managers tend to be estimates based on factors such as the fees charged by their funds and the capital they are thought to have invested in them. Many managers have accumulated large stakes in their own funds and so top hedge fund managers can earn extraordinary amounts of money, perhaps up to $ 4 billion in

8760-736: The firm's reputation, a valuable corporate asset." A hedge fund is an investment vehicle that is most often structured as an offshore corporation , limited partnership , or limited liability company . The fund is managed by an investment manager in the form of an organization or company that is legally and financially distinct from the hedge fund and its portfolio of assets . Many investment managers utilize service providers for operational support. Service providers include prime brokers, banks, administrators, distributors, and accounting firms. Prime brokers clear trades and provide leverage and short-term financing . They are usually divisions of large investment banks. The prime broker acts as

8880-552: The first decade of the 21st century, hedge funds gained popularity worldwide, and, by 2008, the worldwide hedge fund industry held an estimated US$ 1.93 trillion in assets under management (AUM). However, the financial crisis of 2007–2008 caused many hedge funds to restrict investor withdrawals and their popularity and AUM totals declined. AUM totals rebounded and in April 2011 were estimated at almost $ 2 trillion. As of February 2011 , 61% of worldwide investment in hedge funds came from institutional sources. In June 2011,

9000-471: The first hedge fund. The sociologist Alfred W. Jones is credited with coining the phrase " hedged fund" and is credited with creating the first hedge fund structure in 1949. Jones referred to his fund as being "hedged", a term then commonly used on Wall Street to describe the management of investment risk due to changes in the financial markets . Jones also developed the popular 2-and-20 structure of hedge funds, in which hedge funds charged investors

9120-585: The four main categories, there are several strategies that do not entirely fit into these categories. For an investor who already holds large quantities of equities and bonds, investment in hedge funds may provide diversification and reduce the overall portfolio risk. Managers of hedge funds often aim to produce returns that are relatively uncorrelated with market indices and are consistent with investors' desired level of risk. While hedging can reduce some risks of an investment it usually increases others, such as operational risk and model risk , so overall risk

9240-551: The fourth largest television broadcaster in the U.S. with 43 stations. Because of ownership conflicts that exist in markets where both Belo and Gannett own television stations and newspapers, the use of a third-party company (Sander Media, LLC, owned by former Belo executive Jack Sander) as a licensee to buy stations to be operated by the owner of a same-market competitor and concerns about any possible future consolidation of operations of Gannett- and Belo-owned properties in markets where both own television stations or collusion involving

9360-645: The fund and investors. According to the Financial Times , "big hedge funds have some of the most sophisticated and exacting risk management practices anywhere in asset management." Hedge fund managers that hold a large number of investment positions for short periods are likely to have a particularly comprehensive risk management system in place, and it has become usual for funds to have independent risk officers who assess and manage risks but are not otherwise involved in trading. A variety of different measurement techniques and models are used to estimate risk according to

9480-654: The fund trades in diversified markets, or sector specialists such as "systematic currency", in which the fund trades in foreign exchange markets or any other sector specialisation. Other sub-strategies include those employed by commodity trading advisors (CTAs), where the fund trades in futures (or options ) in commodity markets or in swaps. This is also known as a "managed future fund". CTAs trade in commodities (such as gold) and financial instruments, including stock indices . They also take both long and short positions, allowing them to make profit in both market upswings and downswings. Most global macro managers tends to be

9600-436: The fund's net asset value , whereas private-equity funds generally invest in illiquid assets and return capital only after a number of years. Other than a fund's regulatory status, there are no formal or fixed definitions of fund types, and so there are different views of what can constitute a "hedge fund". Although hedge funds are not subject to the many restrictions applicable to regulated funds, regulations were passed in

9720-464: The fund's leverage, liquidity, and investment strategy. Non-normality of returns, volatility clustering and trends are not always accounted for by conventional risk measurement methodologies and so in addition to value at risk and similar measurements, funds may use integrated measures such as drawdowns . In addition to assessing the market-related risks that may arise from an investment, investors commonly employ operational due diligence to assess

9840-418: The hedge fund management firms with the greatest AUM were Bridgewater Associates (US$ 58.9 billion), Man Group (US$ 39.2 billion), Paulson & Co. (US$ 35.1 billion), Brevan Howard (US$ 31 billion), and Och-Ziff (US$ 29.4 billion). Bridgewater Associates had $ 70 billion in assets under management as of March 2012 . At the end of that year, the 241 largest hedge fund firms in

9960-402: The hedge fund manager must identify an upcoming event that will increase or decrease the value of the company's equity and equity-related instruments. Other event-driven strategies include credit arbitrage strategies, which focus on corporate fixed income securities; an activist strategy, where the fund takes large positions in companies and uses the ownership to participate in the management;

10080-539: The jobs of scores of reporters and editors, and decimated journalism in cities all over the country: Denver, Boston, San Jose, Trenton, etc. Next up: Chicago, Baltimore, and the New York Daily News ." In October 2021, The Atlantic examined the impact of Alden's acquisition of the Chicago Tribune , noting that, "The new owners did not fly to Chicago to address the staff, nor did they bother with paeans to

10200-550: The largest newspaper publisher in the United States, which adopted the Gannett name. Mike Reed was named CEO. Gannett Company, Inc. was formed in 1923 by Frank Gannett in Rochester, New York , as an outgrowth of the Elmira Gazette , a newspaper business he had begun in Elmira, New York , in 1906. Gannett, who was known as a conservative , gained fame and fortune by purchasing small independent newspapers and developing them into

10320-539: The management fee from larger funds can generate a significant part of a manager's profits, and as a result some fees have been criticized by some public pension funds, such as CalPERS , for being too high. The performance fee is typically 20% of the fund's profits during any year, though performance fees range between 10% and 50%. Performance fees are intended to provide an incentive for a manager to generate profits. Performance fees have been criticized by Warren Buffett , who believes that because hedge funds share only

10440-456: The market overall. Hedge fund managers can use various types of analysis to identify price discrepancies in securities, including mathematical, technical , or fundamental techniques. Relative value is often used as a synonym for market neutral , as strategies in this category typically have very little or no directional market exposure to the market as a whole. Other relative value sub-strategies include: In addition to those strategies within

10560-592: The market, the particular instrument use, the market sector the fund specializes in ( e.g. , healthcare), the method used to select investments, and the amount of diversification within the fund. There are a variety of market approaches to different asset classes , including equity , fixed income , commodity , and currency . Instruments used include equities, fixed income, futures , options , and swaps . Strategies can be divided into those in which investments can be selected by managers, known as "discretionary/qualitative", or those in which investments are selected using

10680-447: The newspaper company, leaving Gannett's remaining broadcasting and digital operations under the leadership of Martore. In a statement, she explained that the split plans were "significant next steps in our ongoing initiatives to increase shareholder value by building scale, increasing cash flow, sharpening management focus, and strengthening all of our businesses to compete effectively in today's increasingly digital landscape." Additionally,

10800-570: The number of journalists working on its newspapers. In March 2018, Margaret Sullivan , the media columnist for The Washington Post , called Alden "one of the most ruthless of the corporate strip-miners seemingly intent on destroying local journalism" and Vanity Fair dubbed Alden the "grim reaper of American newspapers." Alden received critical coverage from the editorial staff at the Denver Post , who described Alden Global Capital as "vulture capitalists" after multiple staff layoffs. According to

10920-413: The one-year Treasury bill rate plus a spread. A "soft" hurdle means the performance fee is calculated on all the fund's returns if the hurdle rate is cleared. A "hard" hurdle is calculated only on returns above the hurdle rate. By example the manager sets a hurdle rate equal to 5%, and the fund return 15%, incentive fees would only apply to the 10% above the hurdle rate. A hurdle is intended to ensure that

11040-498: The only one to allow unrestricted access. On March 24, 2012, the company announced that it would discipline 25 employees in Wisconsin who had signed the petition to recall Governor Scott Walker , stating that this open public participation in a political process was a violation of the company's code of journalistic ethics and that their primary responsibility as journalists was to maintain credibility and public trust in themselves and

11160-499: The opportunity for larger gains is weighed against the possibility of greater losses. Hedge funds employing leverage are likely to engage in extensive risk management practices. In comparison with investment banks , hedge fund leverage is relatively low; according to a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper, the average leverage for investment banks is 14.2, compared to between 1.5 and 2.5 for hedge funds. Some types of funds, including hedge funds, are perceived as having

11280-469: The organization. On August 21, 2012, Gannett acquired Blinq Media. Around the first week of October 2012, Gannett entered a dispute against Dish Network regarding compensation fees and Dish's AutoHop commercial-skip feature on its Hopper digital video recorders . Gannett ordered that Dish discontinue AutoHop on the account that it is affecting advertising revenues for Gannett's television stations. Gannett threatened to pull all of its stations should

11400-400: The other on broadcasting. The broadcasting company took the name Tegna , and owns about 68 TV stations. The newspaper company inherited the Gannett name. The split was structured so that Tegna is the legal successor of the old Gannett, while the new Gannett is a spin-off . In November 2019, New Media Investment Group acquired and merged its GateHouse Media subsidiary into Gannett, creating

11520-563: The owner and publisher of the Cocoa Tribune , and shared his plan for a morning daily paper in Brevard County. Holderman was not interested. Over the next few years, several Gannett representatives attempted to negotiate a purchase, without success. In the late 1950s, Al Neuharth was assistant managing editor at the Miami Herald and became acquainted with Marie Holderman. In 1963, he

11640-481: The possibility that the merger or acquisition will not go ahead as planned; hedge fund managers will use research and analysis to determine if the event will take place. Special situations are events that impact the value of a company's stock, including the restructuring of a company or corporate transactions including spin-offs , share buy backs , security issuance/repurchase, asset sales, or other catalyst-oriented situations. To take advantage of special situations

11760-491: The profits and not the losses, such fees create an incentive for high-risk investment management. Performance fee rates have fallen since the start of the credit crunch . Almost all hedge fund performance fees include a " high water mark " (or "loss carryforward provision"), which means that the performance fee only applies to net profits ( i.e. , profits after losses in previous years have been recovered). This prevents managers from receiving fees for volatile performance, though

11880-809: The remaining 33 bus stations owned by Greyhound Lines . The firm subsequently began selling the properties for real estate development after closing the stations. The company has been criticized for investing money for pensions of newspaper employees in funds it manages itself. Alden Global Capital's management of American newspapers has been heavily criticized. In 2018, Margaret Sullivan of The Washington Post described Alden as "seemingly intent on destroying local newspapers." Writing for Bloomberg , Joe Nocera similarly described Alden and its president, Heath Freeman, as "a destroyer of newspapers." In 2020, Joe Pompeo pilloried Alden in Vanity Fair for reducing newsrooms, writing that "Alden Global Capital has eliminated

12000-513: The requirement that all employees take a week of unpaid leave in December, and a suspension of matching contributions to employee 401(k) accounts. Gannett also instituted a hiring freeze and is seeking volunteers for buyouts. Gannett announced around 200 more layoffs, or 6% of the news division, in November 2022. As part of the cuts, Gannett stopped printing six community papers, collectively known as

12120-416: The risk that error or fraud at a hedge fund might result in a loss to the investor. Considerations will include the organization and management of operations at the hedge fund manager, whether the investment strategy is likely to be sustainable, and the fund's ability to develop as a company. Since hedge funds are private entities and have few public disclosure requirements, this is sometimes perceived as

12240-454: The same types of risk as other investment classes, including liquidity risk and manager risk. Liquidity refers to the degree to which an asset can be bought and sold or converted to cash; similar to private-equity funds, hedge funds employ a lock-up period during which an investor cannot remove money. Manager risk refers to those risks which arise from the management of funds. As well as specific risks such as style drift , which refers to

12360-486: The six stations. The acquisition was completed on July 8, 2014; in total, Gannett stations now serve 83% of households in the state. Post acquisition, Gannett now outright owns and operates their first Fox affiliates, KIDY & KXVA. On August 5, 2014, Gannett announced that it plans to split into two independent publicly traded companies–one focused on newspapers and publishing, the other on broadcasting. Robert Dickey, head of old Gannett's newspaper division, became CEO of

12480-405: The skirmish continue beyond October 7, and Dish and Gannett fail to reach an agreement. The two parties eventually reached an agreement after extending the deadline for a few hours. On June 13, 2013, Gannett announced plans to buy Dallas -based Belo Corporation for $ 1.5 billion and the assumption of debt. The purchase would add 20 additional stations to Gannett's portfolio and make the company

12600-419: The status quo and their lucrative corporate positions" and that they are "focused more on [their] own power than what's best for the company." In mid-February 2022, the Delaware court found in favor of Lee Enterprises. In the face of that setback, Alden said it would turn to the tactic of filing a proxy statement asking the company's shareholders to vote no on board members Mary Junck and Herbert Moloney during

12720-767: The stock and debt of troubled companies." Under the acquisition plan, MediaNews Group debt fell to $ 165 million from about $ 930 million. Senior lenders under the deal were to swap debt for stock. MediaNews Group came out of bankruptcy in March 2010 under the majority ownership of its lenders. The appointees to the MediaNews board were replaced by new directors representing the stockholders group led by Alden Global Capital. Several interim executive positions were also filled by people related to Alden or its parent, Smith Management LLC. In May 2021, Tribune Publishing finalized its sale to Alden, after having announced in February 2021 that it intended to pursue this path. Alden's purchase price

12840-451: The stylized "G" logo in use since the 1970s (notably used on its TV stations as a corporate/local ID with different animations), and adopted a new company tagline: "It's all within reach." In February 2012, Gannett announced that it would implement a paywall system across all of its daily newspaper websites, with non-subscriber access limited to between five and fifteen articles per month, varying by newspaper. The USA Today website became

12960-594: The time of their injuries in the 1980s or upon enactment of the CVA in 2019. In December 2022, presiding Judge, Deborah A. Chimes acquiesced to Gannett's demands that NY Workers Compensation Board – despite the existence of the Child Victims Act as NY State law – determine if Plaintiffs have a valid cause of action for damages or whether they are limited to benefits under the Worker’s Compensation Law. This despite

13080-508: The time. Nearly three years after the first lawsuit filing, in July 2022, Gannett defense attorneys notified the court of their intent to file a motion to have the former paperboys' Child Victims Act cases taken "out of the state court system and turn them over to the New York Workers' Compensation Board" stating that the 11–14-year-old paperboys should have applied for workman's compensation at

13200-490: The top manager earned $ 3 billion, the tenth earned $ 210 million, and the 30th earned $ 80 million. In 2011, the average earnings for the 25 highest-compensated hedge fund managers in the United States was $ 576 million while the mean total compensation for all hedge fund investment professionals was $ 690,786 and the median was $ 312,329. The same figures for hedge fund CEOs were $ 1,037,151 and $ 600,000, and for chief investment officers were $ 1,039,974 and $ 300,000, respectively. Of

13320-508: The trip in May 1965. Convinced of Gannett's determination and at age 81, Holderman decided to sell, and Pound told the executives they wanted $ 1.9 million in compensation. Neuharth's response: "We told them that was a fair price and we certainly paid her more than she expected to get." In 1966, Neuharth took charge of Gannett Florida. After a few months, the Hudson family in Titusville decided to sell

13440-404: The underlying investment opportunity and risk are associated with an event. An event-driven investment strategy finds investment opportunities in corporate transactional events such as consolidations, acquisitions , recapitalizations , bankruptcies , and liquidations . Managers employing such a strategy capitalize on valuation inconsistencies in the market before or after such events, and take

13560-429: The vital civic role of journalism. Instead, they gutted the place." Hedge fund A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that holds liquid assets and that makes use of complex trading and risk management techniques to improve investment performance and insulate returns from market risk . Among these portfolio techniques are short selling and the use of leverage and derivative instruments . In

13680-543: The wire service in Gannett-owned publications. According to a statement from the company, this decision, regarded by observers as a cost-cutting move, "will give us the opportunity to redeploy more dollars toward our teams and build capacity where we might have gaps." In that same memo, Gannett said it signed an agreement with Reuters to publish the newswire's global content. Gannett will continue to pay AP for its election-related polling and vote-counting, and pay to access

13800-702: Was $ 635 million, or $ 17.25 per share. Tribune Publishing published nine major metropolitan dailies. These included the Chicago Tribune , the New York Daily News , and The Baltimore Sun . The Daily News was transferred by Alden into a separate Alden-owned company, Daily News Enterprises, upon the close of the deal. Alden first became involved with Tribune Publishing in 2019, when they paid $ 117.9 million to Michael Ferro for his 25.2-percent stake. Alden sold The Baltimore Sun in January 2024 to David D. Smith , executive chairman of Sinclair Inc. The purchase price

13920-456: Was completed on June 29, 2015. The split was structured so that the old Gannett changed its name to Tegna, and then spun off its publishing interests as a "new" Gannett Company. Tegna retained "old" Gannett's stock price history under a new ticker symbol, TGNA, while "new" Gannett inherited "old" Gannett's ticker symbol, GCI. The two companies shared a headquarters complex in Tysons Corner for

14040-571: Was hired by Miller to manage the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, New York . Two years later, he asked Miller for an opportunity to persuade Holderman. In their meeting, Neuharth complimented the Tribune , but told Holderman that she lacked the resources to win a competition. Holderman was invited to Rochester for a meeting to talk with Gannett executives. The Gannett corporate airplane flew four people from Florida to New York. John Pound, managing editor joined Holderman and her two granddaughters on

14160-767: Was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. Douglas H. McCorkindale succeeded Curley as CEO in 2000 and chairman in 2001. That year, the company moved to its headquarters in Tysons Corner, Virginia , a suburb of Washington, D.C. Beginning in 2005 at the Fort Myers News-Press , Gannett pioneered the mojo concept of mo bile multimedia jo urnalists, reporters who were initially untethered from conventional newsrooms and drove around their communities filing hyperlocal news in various formats including text for print publication, still photos for print and online publication, and audio and video for

14280-594: Was not immediately disclosed. In 2019, Alden attempted, but failed at, a hostile takeover of Gannett . Alden purchased a 5.9-percent stake in Lee Enterprises in January 2020. Lee Enterprises owns 77 daily newspapers, including the Buffalo News , Omaha World-Herald and the Tulsa World . In November 2021, Alden made an offer to Lee to purchase the company in its entirety for roughly $ 141 million. In response,

14400-514: Was purchased from DuPont and The Tennessean in Nashville in 1979, when the chain had grown to 79 newspapers. In 1982, the broadcasting unit partnered with Telepictures Corporation to start out its Newscope program. Gannett's oldest newspaper is the Berrow's Worcester Journal based in Worcester, England and founded in 1690. In the United States, the oldest newspapers still in circulation are

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