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A battle brews for Gannett

MNG Enterprises, the owner of one of the largest newspaper businesses in the country, made a $12-per-share offer today for Gannett, the publisher of USA Today and dozens of other publications.

The news: The proposal from MNG, which owns 200 publications, to buy Gannett represents a 41 percent premium over the company’s closing price at the end of last year. MNG, which has a history of acquiring struggling local papers and cutting costs, has a 7.5 percent stake in Gannett, making it Gannett’s largest active shareholder. Gannett’s stock price surged in premarket trading after the bid.

The back story: Over the past few years, MNG has made several approaches about a deal, only to be rebuffed, the WSJ reported. Gannett, whose shares have dropped in recent years, has been seeking to remake itself. In 2016, it backed off a bid to acquire Tronc, the media company now known as Tribune Publishing.

The backlash: MNG, one of the largest newspaper chains in the country, owns about 200 newspapers and publications including The Denver Post and The Orange County Register. Last year, frustrated journalists at The Denver paper criticized its owner, making the case for its survival.