Key Takeaways
- • Tampa Bay Times sold its 27-acre St. Petersburg printing plant to Twenty Lake Holdings, the real estate arm of Alden Global Capital, for $21 million to reduce corporate debt.
- • The $21 million in proceeds will retire remaining balance on a $15 million loan from local investors including Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik, Ybor City investor Darryl Shaw, and Times CEO Paul Tash, with surplus funds allocated to the company's pension fund.
- • The transaction involves only the physical property and real estate; the Times' editorial operations remain under control of the Poynter Institute, the non-profit journalism school that owns the newspaper, with printing operations already relocated to Lakeland earlier in 2021.
- • Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund with a documented track record of acquiring newspaper assets and restructuring newsrooms across major U.S. markets including the Denver Post and Orlando Sentinel, acquired the property through its commercial real estate subsidiary.
Summary
The Tampa Bay Times completed a $21 million asset sale of its printing plant and 27-acre property located at 1301 North 34th Street in St. Petersburg to Twenty Lake Holdings, the commercial real estate subsidiary of Alden Global Capital. The transaction closed in August 2021 as a debt reduction strategy for the newspaper company.
The capital generated from the sale will be deployed to eliminate the remaining balance on a $15 million loan originated by a consortium of local investors. The investor group includes Jeff Vinik, owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning; Ybor City real estate investor Darryl Shaw; and Paul Tash, who serves as chairperson and CEO of the Times. Any remaining proceeds beyond debt repayment will be directed to the company's pension fund obligations.
Tampa Bay Times leadership emphasized that the transaction is purely a real estate divestiture with no impact on newspaper operations or editorial control. CEO Paul Tash stated the deal with Alden's Twenty Lake Holdings involves only the physical property and carries no implications for the newsroom. The Times had already transitioned printing operations to a facility in Lakeland earlier in 2021, making the St. Petersburg plant non-operational for approximately six months prior to the sale. The newspaper itself remains owned by the Poynter Institute, a non-profit journalism school.
Alden Global Capital's involvement in newspaper asset acquisition has attracted attention in media circles. The New York-based hedge fund has pursued a strategy of acquiring newspaper properties and their associated real estate across the country, with notable acquisitions including the Denver Post and Orlando Sentinel, often followed by significant newsroom restructuring. In this instance, however, Alden acquired the property specifically through its real estate division rather than as a direct newspaper acquisition, limiting direct operational overlap with Times editorial activities.
The capital generated from the sale will be deployed to eliminate the remaining balance on a $15 million loan originated by a consortium of local investors. The investor group includes Jeff Vinik, owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning; Ybor City real estate investor Darryl Shaw; and Paul Tash, who serves as chairperson and CEO of the Times. Any remaining proceeds beyond debt repayment will be directed to the company's pension fund obligations.
Tampa Bay Times leadership emphasized that the transaction is purely a real estate divestiture with no impact on newspaper operations or editorial control. CEO Paul Tash stated the deal with Alden's Twenty Lake Holdings involves only the physical property and carries no implications for the newsroom. The Times had already transitioned printing operations to a facility in Lakeland earlier in 2021, making the St. Petersburg plant non-operational for approximately six months prior to the sale. The newspaper itself remains owned by the Poynter Institute, a non-profit journalism school.
Alden Global Capital's involvement in newspaper asset acquisition has attracted attention in media circles. The New York-based hedge fund has pursued a strategy of acquiring newspaper properties and their associated real estate across the country, with notable acquisitions including the Denver Post and Orlando Sentinel, often followed by significant newsroom restructuring. In this instance, however, Alden acquired the property specifically through its real estate division rather than as a direct newspaper acquisition, limiting direct operational overlap with Times editorial activities.
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