Washington Post Costs Investors 71% Forgoing Breakup: Real M&A

Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Washington Post Co. risks costing shareholders a 71 percent gain by keeping together its 134-year- old newspaper, Kaplan education business and broadcast and cable operations.

The company’s market capitalization slid to $2.5 billion from a record $9.5 billion in 2004 as newspaper advertising dwindled and Kaplan was ensnared in government investigations into student loan defaults at for-profit universities. Breaking Washington Post Co. into four companies may generate a combined value of $564 a share, a 71 percent increase to the stock’s average price in the last 20 days, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The broadcasting and cable units alone would exceed the Washington-based company’s current value.