MediaNews Group, owned by investment firm Alden Global Capital, this week has submitted a bid on July 22, 2025, to purchase The Dallas Morning News, a Texas newspaper locally owned for 140 years.
The NY Times reports the offer disrupts a previously announced $75 million deal, valued at $14 per share, in which Hearst agreed to acquire DallasNews Corporation, the newspaper’s parent company. The Hearst deal, approved by both companies’ boards, was set to close later in 2025.MediaNews Group’s proposal, detailed in a letter to the DallasNews board and disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, offers $16.50 per share, or approximately $88 million, positioning it as a “superior offer.”
The company emphasized its commitment to continuing the newspaper’s print edition and praised The Dallas Morning News for its “high-quality local journalism” and “operational efficiency.”
A subsidiary of Alden Global Capital, MediaNews Group is the second-largest newspaper publisher in the U.S., owning titles like The Denver Post, The Boston Herald, and The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Alden has a reputation for aggressive cost-cutting, often reducing newsroom staff, and currently holds nearly 10% of DallasNews stock, per the SEC filing.
Under the Hearst deal, The Dallas Morning News would join Hearst Newspapers, which operates 28 dailies, including The San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst has been expanding in Texas, recently agreeing to buy The Austin American-Statesman from Gannett.