Billionaire steps in to save the Daily Progress
After a rough year, and with its company stock in free fall, Lee Enterprises had to cut a deal.
You won’t be hearing much about it — because local media companies are reluctant to report on each other — but there’s been some pretty big news concerning the Daily Progress.
After reporting a net loss of $36 million this year, including $4 million for restoration services after a cyber attack/ransom in February by Russian hackers, which prevented them from printing newspapers for a time and compromised the personal information of approximately 40,000 people, the parent company of the The Daily Progress, Lee Enterpises, finally gave into Florida billionaire David Hoffmann, who inked a deal on Tuesday that will give him a controlling stake in the newspaper chain. As part of the deal, Lee CEO Kevin Mowbray, who has been at the helm for 39 years, will be retiring and collecting a $1.5 million payout.
