Philadelphia Inquirer Majority Owners Seek to Buy Out Others

After nearly a month of upheaval at The Philadelphia Inquirer, including the abrupt firing of the paper’s top editor and lawsuits among its owners, the majority owners on Wednesday offered to buy out the minority investors, in what they described as an effort to provide stability to the company.

George E. Norcross III and William P. Hankowsky, both majority owners in the Philadelphia Media Network, which also publishes The Daily News and Philly.com, said they wanted to put an end to the infighting. So they offered to buy out two minority investors, H. F. Lenfest and Lewis Katz, for $29 million, which they asserted was nearly a 12 percent profit in the 18 months since they made the original investment.

Mr. Norcross and Mr. Hankowsky said in a statement that they were prepared to wire the funds within 24 hours after an agreement was reached. “We did not want or initiate the litigation that has created a sideshow that will ultimately waste hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars in legal fees that could be used to further strengthen and build the company,” they said.

Jay Devine, a spokesman representing Mr. Katz, Mr. Lenfest and William K. Marimow, who was the paper’s top editor, declined to comment on the offer.

Mr. Norcross, a Democratic power broker, and Mr. Lenfest, a parking lot magnate, were among a group of local investors who bought the struggling newspaper in April 2012. The investor group then hired back Mr. Marimow, who had previously served as The Inquirer’s top editor from 2006 to 2010.

While there appeared to be conflicts among investors from the start over how to run the paper and its website, these battles culminated in Mr. Marimow’s firing on Oct. 7. Three days later, Mr. Katz and Mr. Lenfest sued, claiming that Mr. Marimow should be reinstated because the firing took place without their consultation. Then Mr. Norcross countersued.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/31/business/media/philadelphia-inquirer-majority-owners-seek-to-buy-out-others.html?partner=rss&emc=rss