A labor union representing newsroom employees at seven of Tribune Publishing Co.’s nine newspapers is demanding the removal from the board of three representatives of a hedge fund that has offered to buy the company and take it private, the New York Times reported. In a letter sent to Tribune’s chairman, Philip Franklin, the News Guild said that the hedge fund, Alden Global Capital LLC, had violated Securities and Exchange Commission rules by not informing shareholders of its buyout offer within the mandated 10 days after approaching the board. The guild said that the three Alden-appointed directors — one of whom is the hedge fund’s co-founder, Randall Smith — represented “gross violations of their fiduciary responsibilities” and that a special meeting should be called to vote on removing them. A spokesman for Alden challenged the union’s interpretation of events and said the fund had abided by the rules. On Thursday, Tribune said that it had appointed a special committee made up of three independent board members to review Alden’s offer. Alden holds a 32 percent stake in Tribune, whose properties include the Chicago Tribune, the New York Daily News and the Baltimore Sun. On Dec. 31, Alden said it was interested in acquiring the rest of the publishing company for $14.25 a share, valuing Tribune at $521 million. Tribune’s shares have since risen by 17 percent as of yesterday morning.
