NEW YORK: Private Capital Management LP, Knight Ridder Inc.'s largest shareholder, called for a sale of the newspaper publisher on Tuesday, citing management's inability to boost profit and the company's share price, according to a Bloomberg News report.
In a letter dated Nov. 1, Bruce S. Sherman, CEO of PCM, asked Knight Ridder’s board of directors to consider breaking up the company. "In light of limited revenue growth across the newspaper industry and the difficulties the company has faced in realizing the fair value of the company for its shareholders," Sherman wrote, "we believe the board should now aggressively pursue the competitive sale of the company."
PCM has been an investor in Knight Ridder since April 2000 and currently holds 19% of the company’s outstanding shares.
On Monday, Deutsche Bank securities downgraded Knight Ridder from "hold" to "sell."
