By: E&P Staff Tribune Co. has sold a big part of its stake in CareerBuilder to Gannett Co., the companies announced Wednesday. The purchase gives Gannett a controlling 50.8% interest in the jobs site.
Heavily indebted Tribune sold the 10% stake to Gannett for $135 million, according to the announcement. Tribune, which two years ago took advantage of the sale of Knight Ridder to add to its CareerBuilder stake, has been looking to raise money to draw down nearly $13 billion in debt, much of its taken on to finance its going-private deal last December.
"This transaction offers us an excellent opportunity to monetize some of the value CareerBuilder has built over the years, while enabling us to maintain a significant stake in a great online property," Tribune Chairman/CEO Sam Zell said in a statement.
Tribune now owns a 30.8% stake in CareerBuilder, with The McClatchy Company continuing to own 14.4%, and Microsoft Corp. 4%.
With the new ownership agreement, Gannett has three seats on the six-seat CareerBuilder board of directors. Tribune and McClatchy have one seat each, with the CEO having one seat also.
CareerBuilder in recent years has edged out Monster to become the nation's largest online jobs site.
"CareerBuilder is a terrific company, with great growth potential that just keeps delivering more for Gannett and our partners," Gannett Chairman, President and CEO Craig Dubow said in a statement. "We were delighted when the opportunity arose to acquire more of the company while maintaining a good, solid relationship with our partners.?
**
Check out the new
Fitz & Jen blog now!
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here