Tribune Publishing Gets $70.5 Million From Nant Capital

Close on the heels of rejecting an unsolicited proposal from Gannett Co. Inc. GCI, Tribune Publishing Co. TPUB revealed it signed an agreement with Nant Capital, LLC. Accordingly, it would get a $70.5 million growth capital investment from it in exchange for Tribune common stock.

Tribune agreed to issue 4.7 million its common stock to Nant Capital at $15.00 per share to support its transformation strategy. The shares to be acquired by Nant Capital would be similar to those acquired by Merrick Media in the February 4 investment round. The shares issue carried a lock-in period of three years.

The media firm also invited Patrick Soon-Shiong to join its Board of Directors as Vice Chairman. According to the company, he would assume the position on June 2.

Tribune's CEO, Justin Dearborn, commented about the developments saying, "We are committed to completely transforming Tribune Publishing and Dr. Soon-Shiong is a tremendous addition to those efforts. He is an innovative and visionary leader with a proven ability to leverage technology and research to drive transformative change and create significant shareholder value. Tribune will benefit from Dr. Soon-Shiong's penetrating insights and unparalleled technology experience as we execute our strategy. Nant Capital's investment demonstrates strong support for our plan and provides additional capital to accelerate our growth strategies for the benefit of our shareholders and all other Tribune stakeholders."

Following the transaction, the company indicated that Nant Capital would have about 12.9% stake in Tribune Publishing's outstanding shares. As a result, it would become the second largest shareholder.

Nant Capital's Soon-Shiong added, "All industries go through cycles and Tribune, recognizing the vital role of technology in the future of publishing, is transitioning from a legacy newspaper company to a technology and content company. Its award-winning brands offer significant value creation potential, and I look forward to helping deliver value for shareholders by applying my technology expertise to accelerate content-monetization through the innovative Tronc platform. I grew up in apartheid South Africa. I believe it is critical to our democracy and to our way of life that we have a strong, vibrant media and that it continues to function as the fourth estate."