Bill Gates, Newspaper Guy
What does it say about the dinosaur newspaper industry that the world's richest man is investing in it? According to an Aug. 8 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, MediaNews Group Inc. has a $597.3 million line of credit from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other members of a lending consortium to finance its purchase of several San Francisco Bay Area newspapers. The filing does not specify exact amounts invested by the foundation or others consortium members which include banks and insurance companies. MediaNews, which publishes the Detroit News, Denver Post, and other dailies, recently bought four papers from the McClatchy Co. for $1 billion. The deal was part of McClatchy's larger takeover of the now-defunct Knight-Ridder chain, buying 32 papers and selling off 11 of them. (KR was the minority, 49.5 percent, owner of The Seattle Times, a stake now held by McClatchy, which also owns the Tacoma News Tribune, Bellingham Herald, Tri-City Herald and The Olympian). The Gates/consortium financing enabled MediaNews to complete its purchases of two of the largest Bay Area papers, the San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times. The Hearst Corp., owner of the Seattle P-I and the San Francisco Chronicle, also jumped into the deal. It now has a $299 million equity investment in MediaNews, according to the SEC, in return for a 30 percent stake in the company. It's an unusual alliance among publishers who compete on the same turf, but both corporations could benefit by squeezing out smaller area publications—assuming the coziness passes antitrust muster. For the Gates Foundation, it's just another day at the bank. It currently has $4 billion in holdings, according to a separate SEC filing the foundation made this week. The holdings include a $312 million stake in petroleum giant BP (and $217 million in Exxon), $259 million in Costco, $222 million in Waste Management and a new, $32 million stake in Wal-Mart. The lingering question: Does it matter how you make it, if you give it away?
5 comment(s)
Don Knox says:
If the transaction worked as you describe, then this is a loan, not an \"investment.\" Presumably, the foundation and other organizations are extending the loan because the interest rate is favorable and because they believe the company a) has the money to repay the loan and b) enough assets to secure it.
Posted On: Friday, Aug. 18 2006 @ 3:50PM
Sarah Warner says:
One correction ... Hearst Corp. hasn\'t yet become an investor in MediaNews Group. That part of the transaction still needs approval by the Department of Justice.
Posted On: Saturday, Aug. 19 2006 @ 2:06AM
DavidJay says:
Story already says Hearst deal has to pass \" antitrust muster.\" But question really is why Bill Gates is investing (by offering up a line of credit based on the company\'s performance) in the dead tree industry. What do he or his advisors know that we don\'t?
Posted On: Saturday, Aug. 19 2006 @ 8:31AM
Reporterward says:
Gates hasn\'t been wandering around his compound looking for Rosebud has he?
Posted On: Monday, Aug. 21 2006 @ 9:28PM
Ghulam Rabbani Khan says:
Dear Sir Bill Gates The richest man of the world and all others Richest persons,
I Pray for ur all\'s good health, May live long.
Sir, I want to tell you the situation how the people are suffering in the hills.
Place: Burz Wali Kiri Khaisor Tehsil Dera Ismail Khan N.W.F.P Pakistan.
This is the place where people lives, many villages around there.
But u can imagine that where,
a. No road
b. No hospital.
c. No Electricity.
d. No water Supply.
e. No School\'s
f. not any other facility
So u can imagine that how the people are suffering.
1.They are drinking water from big open storage of water, which is for peoples and animals.
2. So many womens died during prignancy.
3. So many childerns died due to non hospitality.
4. No any other facility due to non trafic area.
5. There is a no way to live but
these people are not ready to go out because the don\'t have way to go out of this area.
the people are very poor and don\'t have any access to the governament.
plz help these people and send the team to check their problems
I hope u will do best for there poor families.
If u need any kind of help regarding these i will help to guide u.
thanxs
waiting for response
urz
Ghulam Rabbani Khan Ex Chairmain Ushar & Zakat Commitee Village Burz Wali Post Office Kiri Khaisor Tehsil Pahar Pur District Dera Ismail Khan N.W.F.P Pakistan
Ph: +92966776099
Posted On: Tuesday, Dec. 12 2006 @ 5:31AM