Gannett preparing higher takeover bid for Tribune

Gannett is preparing a formal takeover bid for Tribune, which rebuffed an $864 million unsolicited offer in May, The Post has learned.

The so-called binding bid will be more than the $15 a share Gannett dangled in front of Tribune, which has since changed its name to Tronc, one source said.

Gannett, the owner of USA Today, is not letting its disappointing second-quarter earnings report last week deter it from pursuing the publisher of the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times.

“The CEO is still very supportive of the concept,” the source said.

The Post reported in July that Gannett, led by Chief Executive Robert Dickey, was meeting with Tronc in its Chicago office and conducting due diligence.

Although Michael Ferro, Tronc’s chairman and biggest shareholder, wasn’t at that meeting, there is growing pressure from shareholders to reconsider a deal.

Part of Gannett’s strategy calls for inserting a smaller edition of USA Today in many of Tronc’s mid-sized city papers like the Baltimore Sun, Hartford Courant and Orlando Sentinel.

The move would provide those papers with more content and allow them to cut back on national reporting staff, a source said.

Over the past few years, Gannett has rolled out the mini-USA Today edition in many of its own papers, helping it justify subscription price hikes, the source said.

Combining the two publishers would also reduce printing costs, the source said.

Shares of Tronc closed Friday at $14.99. The stock was trading at $7.52 before Gannett made its first unsolicited offer.

Gannett did not return calls for comment.