Chicago Tribune owner Alden wants to acquire publisher of northwest suburban Daily Herald
The investment fund that owns the Chicago Tribune wants to acquire the suburban Daily Herald newspaper but could be in for a fight.
Alden Global Capital, aggressive as a buyer and cost-cutter at American newspapers, declared its desire for the Daily Herald via a full-page ad in Sunday’s Tribune. The Herald, long a dominant source of northwest suburban news, has shared the misfortune of traditional media outlets struggling to keep an audience and advertisers in the digital age.
The ad was a statement from the Tribune itself addressed to shareholders of Paddock Publications, which owns the Herald. It said, “We, at the Chicago Tribune, can pay the highest price to acquire Paddock, 30% more than anyone else. We can also offer the best employment terms for Paddock’s employees.”
The @chicagotribune wants to buy the Daily Herald pic.twitter.com/ngZlceTvQw
— Gregory Royal Pratt (@royalpratt) February 8, 2026
In January, Paddock filed a notice with the state that it is considering a sale. The notice included no details, and the company has issued none since then.
Current and former media people familiar with the Herald speculated privately that the company could be sold to Crystal Lake-based Shaw Media, which owns newspapers and radio stations across northern Illinois and Iowa. Its papers, some just outside Daily Herald territory, include the Northwest Herald in Crystal Lake, the Kane County Chronicle and the Herald-News in Joliet.
Publicists and executives at Alden, Shaw and Paddock did not return messages Sunday.
The Alden-Tribune pitch acknowledged Paddock’s unusual situation. It’s an employee-owned company and to support a bid from Alden, workers might want assurances about job security.
Alden, however, is known for ruthless cost-cutting at its more than 200 daily and weekly newspapers. At the Tribune, it has reduced staff via several rounds of buyouts and layoffs since it took over in 2021.
In 2023, Alden bought the Daily Herald’s printing plant in Schaumburg to keep producing the Tribune and serve the Sun-Times, Herald and other customers. The deal was needed because Alden sold the former Tribune printing plant in 2022 for $200 million. The former printing plant has been demolished to make way for a Bally’s casino.
Alden’s reputation worked against it last year when shareholders refused to sell it the Dallas Morning News, preferring instead a lower offer from Hearst. In 2022, Alden was thwarted in its bid for Lee Enterprises, publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other papers.