Gannett Is Leaning Toward Dropping Bid to Acquire Tribune

Gannett Co. is leaning toward dropping its bid to acquire Tribune Publishing Co. based on expectations that Tribune shareholders would vote Thursday to support a management-proposed slate of directors, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Tribune said in a statement that its shareholders elected the directors, but because it won’t release the vote totals until Friday, it’s impossible to gauge the level of support the directors received. Gannett had encouraged shareholders to withhold their votes for re-election as a show of disappointment in Chairman Michael Ferro’s efforts to reject a takeover.

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