Gannett/Tronc Might Not Be Breaking Any News

The tempestuousness that characterized the relationship between Gannett Co Inc (NYSE: GCI) and tronc Inc (NASDAQ: TRNC) may slowly be reaching a resolution.

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A Brief History

• Gannett made an offer for Tribune Publishing in April this year, with executives of both companies engaging in discussions about a potential buyout of the latter.
• The talks hit a rough weather in the same month, and Gannett went public with an $815 million offer to buy Tribune Publishing.
• Gannett took the battle to the shareholders of Tribune, urging them not to vote for a slate of candidates put forward by the company for the board.
• As shareholder opposition emerged, Tribune announced a new strategy, including creating a unit called Tronc, aimed at systematically serve advertising based on artificial intelligence.
• In May, Tribune rejected Gannett's offer.
• Following the shareholder meeting of Tribune in June, it announced a name change to Tronc.
• Subsequently, rumors swirling around the Street suggested a sale may soon materialize, valuing Tronc at $18.50 or $19 per share.

Meanwhile, an internal memo cited by Politico on Monday said Gannett is planning to trim 2 percent or about 350 of its workforce. The action would be completed by the end of the week, the report revealed. This is seen as an indication that Gannett may finally officially announce its takeover of Tronc at its earnings call scheduled for Thursday.

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