Alden Global Capital
| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Investment management |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Founder | Randall D. Smith |
| Headquarters | Lipstick Building, New York City , U.S. |
Key people | Heath Freeman |
| Products | Hedge funds |
| AUM | US$1.04 billion |
Number of employees | 15 |
| Parent | Smith Management LLC |
| Website | aldenglobal |
| Footnotes / references | |
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 200 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 the United States.
The company operates its media holdings through Digital First Media, which it acquired in 2010 after DMG's parent company, MediaNews Group, declared bankruptcy. With its acquisition of Tribune Publishing in 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 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 cutting costs by reducing the number of journalists working on its newspapers, leading to media criticism.