News

Florida billionaire takes control of Lee Enterprises, easing debt and reshaping its leadership

Poynter · Angela Fu · last updated

Lee Enterprises — the newspaper chain holding storied dailies like The Buffalo News and St. Louis Post-Dispatch — announced last week that billionaire investor David Hoffmann had acquired a majority stake in the company.

Hoffmann, who is personally committing $35 million, will serve as the chair of Lee’s board of directors. Other investors are contributing $15 million to the deal, which Lee says will give it a much-needed boost and allow it to reduce its annual interest rate, saving the company millions of dollars. Kevin Mowbray, the company’s longtime president and CEO, has stepped down, and the board is looking for his replacement.

In the interim, chief operating officer Nathan Bekke will fill the CEO position, which under Mowbray had “direct responsibility for all aspects of the company’s operations, with special focus on digital growth, revenue expansion and business transformation.” As board chair, Hoffmann would have substantial power in shaping the company’s direction.

View full article

here today, more tomorrow

We’re launching briefing.center with a focus on the press and media.

And we’re adding Citizen Cartwright, a daily quick-read news summary by veteran Washington journalist Linda Cartwright. (Sign-up for a dedicated morning email is available at Citizencartwright.com.)

We’re readying our first policy briefing.center, on energy and climate. We’d love to hear from you in what our other policy priorities should be.

You can use briefing.center as the center of your information management, or just one of your tools. We’re happy to discuss your connectivity needs.

Sign up