Last week McClatchy CEO Gary Pruitt resigned from four family trusts that control 80% of the voting stock in the McClatchy company, prompting speculation that McClatchy is about to make a move.
Alan Mutter says it looks like the McClatchy family is taking the company private. I think the McClatchy family is about to remove Pruitt as CEO (and give him a nifty severance package). (McClatchy company treasurer Elaine Lintecum says the move is just good governance -- but nobody believes that.)
Either way, look for MNI shares to jump up tomorrow.
What do you think will happen? Leave your ideas in comments.
12 comments:
Analyzing the strategic goals of management that debt loaded for an already dead KNI, and then dumped the Strib in a fire sale, is futile. The Pruitt Maneuver won't matter in the end. RJ and Bob will continue their squabble, and it will all be groundhog day.
I think Alan's column is dead on....they are going private. Look at Alan's detailed figures.
Gary Pruitt has been strangely quiet the past few weeks, as 8 McClatchy newspapers announced buyouts.
On Bloody Monday, Pruitt was available to the media and he was quoted giving perspective on McClatchy's plans.
Things seem different now. If Gary Pruitt was still in command, wouldn't he have made himself available to the media for quotes or an interview or two? 8 rounds of layoffs and no comments from the guy in charge? Hmmm.
...Either way, the lookouts report " Iceberg, dead ahead ". Pity the poor pressmen in stearage. Not many employee's who get a paycheck are going to make it into the lifeboats, managers get to board them first.
Pruitt is taking the buyout.
I' m taking the buyout in the Midwest and my last day is next Friday. I just want to say thanks to McClatchy Watch for helping me get through this. I wanted to take this opportunity now because I think next week will be a busy one here.
The damage has been done...The stock is still on life support...what was worth $70,000 18 months ago is worth $7,000 now...will it go back up to $75.00 share, I think not. It will get worse before it gets better. Maybe they can grab Gary Pruitt by the ankles and shake him real hard and find some loose pocket change to help patch the giant hole he has helped to dig.
Which McClatchy papers have NOT been impacted so much...any response would be appreciated...I know the Merced Sun Star has not seen the scale of devastation the larger papers have experienced. Who is the publisher of the Sun Star? Hank Vander Veen...why has he not been impacted as hard like the papers to the north and south of the Sun Star? What is happening in the Midwest, east coast and south? Any word in Alaska?
The Great Carnak predicts more consolidations, buy outs, lay offs, and sell some major assets. Why do they want to sell a printing press that is making the company money? Is it because they have to pay a Union Press crew to produce an award winning paper?
Even these sales of assets will not raise enough capitol in a short enough time to keep the creditors at bay...Annon 4:37 is dead on...Groundhog day.
dave d. is right on too...the employees in stearage are in deep trouble as the folks in first class get the life boats and we don't even get a oar...
Who is holding the hand basket anyway?
I heard rumors of privatizing several months ago, but can they do it with so much debt?
Annon 8:01 best wishes with the buy out and finding a new job. Our whole Dept will be laid off Sept 29, (150 jobs) the only advantage to a layoff is we can collect unemployment and have access to certain resources and job training.
Attn: Mr. McClatchy Watch is there a forum or place where we can network with others in our predicament and share resources and ideas of where to look for jobs?
And YES, thank you for a place to be able to sound off and help us get over this rough patch in our lives>
I think McClatchy is in more trouble than they're telling.
I heard that the corporate jet is for sale (second hand Info.) if its true, that's like a guy selling his motorcycle to pay the PG&E bill and the newspaper subscription.
I heard that about the Jet also, but no real info. They are selling equipment...printing presses, inserters etc. Howard on his blog says the company isn't as bad off as people make it out to be.
From Howard's blog answering my post he says: (here's the link... http://editor.blogspot.com/2008/09/calibration.html#comment-form
Anon 934: I'm not sure what your point actually is, but your argument likewise rests on fanciful facts and figures you seems to have invented. You say "The debt shows no signs of easing ..." Huh? We paid down $800 million last year alone. It's projected to be at or near $2 billion at year end, down from $4.5 billion. Doesn't that indicate "signs of easing"? Perhaps more important to the short term, only about $1 billion of that is bank debt with near term due dates.
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Things are looking rosy, take off the rose colored glasses Howard! They paid down $800 million as the cost of thousands of jobs, Thanks a lot.
$1 billion near term bank debt. "Time to pull out the card tables boys, were gonna have a big yard sale"...(my kids tell me "yard sale" is a skate boarder term for a really grand wipe out LOL!)
I looked for the stock to go up, and it didn't. As I write this, it is continuing its inexorable slide towards being delisted.
I do agree with your speculation that MNI is in the process of dumping Pruitt, but Wall Street seems to believe that even that is not going to save this company.
Yep, shot right up there...3.66 Friday...right on up to...3.53...UH, Wait I thought it was going to go up....Hey kids, grab your toboggan, someone ain't usin' their noggin...It's all down hill from here!!!
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