Share Email Print RSS

Media General Slashes Dividend

The board of directors of Media General , the media conglomerate that owns the Richmond Times-Dispatch , has cut its quarterly dividend from $0.23 per share to $0.12 per share a, move that should save the debt-hobbled company $2.5 million per quarter.

Said CEO Marshall N. Morton in a prepared statement : "Today's action by the Board is a prudent response to the continued weak economic conditions impacting our businesses and industry, and allows cash flow to further reduce our debt. We remain positive on our position in our markets and we are continuing to take the necessary actions to implement our growth strategies to build shareholder value."

Meanwhile, Mario Gabelli , whose Gamco Investors Inc . owns a 21.4 percent stake in Media General, has warned Media General and several other companies in which he has holdings that he may seek to nominate new board members, reports the Wall Street Journal .

Gamco has filed documents for "a list of 12 or 13 companies" with the Securities Exchange Commission that are required when an investor intends to play a role in shaping the direction of the company. Earlier this year, Gamco backed Harbinger Capital Partners , an activist hedge fund, in its successful effort to secure three board seats at Media General.

There is little prospect of outside shareholders engineering a takeover of the company, however. A majority of the company's 11 board seats are controlled by the owners of narrowly held Class B shares.