Knight Ridder Bidders
Thanks to PaidContent for pointing us to a TheDeal.com story (reg. req'd) about bidders for Knight Ridder. Potential suitors include:
- Thomas H. Lee Partners, Bain Capital, Texas Pacific Group and Hellman & Friedman
- Blackstone Group, Providence Equity Partners and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
- Gannett Co., Tribune Co., Freedom Communications and the McClatchy Co.
There's a lot at stake for the future of the industry hanging on which entity acquires the business and how it is subsequently managed.
Nearly all of these PE firms have been in the YP space in the recent past. I presume they see the steady cash flow as the key to these deals. The YP industry sells at 10X ebitda (more or less). It will be interesting to see what KR sells for on a multiple.