Tribune Publishing Co has received a 680 million takeover offer from Newslight LLC, a bid that trumps an earlier proposal from hedge fund Alden Global Capital for the owner of the Chicago Tribune and the New York Daily News.

Tribune said in a statement on Monday that its board had determined that the 18.50 per share proposal from Newslight, jointly owned by Choice Hotels International Inc Chairman Stewart Bainum and Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, was superior to Aldens bid.

Newslights offer represents a premium of about 45 to Tribunes close before Alden made its first bid on Dec. 31. The Baltimore Sun owners shares closed at 18.03 on Thursday.

New Yorkbased Alden, the largest shareholder in Tribune, had offered 17.25 per share for the company in February for the stake it did not already own.

Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni

Source Reuters