Alden sues Lee after news publisher rejects its takeover bid

By JOSH FUNK
AP Business Writer

The Alden Global Capital hedge fund stepped up its efforts to buy Lee Enterprises this week by filing a lawsuit against the newspaper publisher accusing Lee’s board of improperly denying shareholders the chance to have a say on its takeover offer. Lee rejected Alden’s offer to buy the company for $24 a share, or roughly $141 million, last Thursday because the company’s board decided the offer “grossly undervalued” the company. But Alden argued in the lawsuit it filed Wednesday that Lee shouldn’t have rejected its offer and rebuffed its attempt to nominate three directors without even talking to the hedge fund. Lee officials said Alden’s claims are “baseless” and its nomination form was clearly invalid under the company’s rules.