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WTF does this have to do with charity?
Sounds more like a way to get favorable coverage for M$ than anything else
Sounds more like a way to get favorable coverage for M$ than anything else
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Gates foundation helps company buy papers
P-I STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is among the organizations that collectively loaned at least $350 million to MediaNews Group Inc. for the acquisition of newspapers in California and Minnesota.
The Seattle-based foundation, the world's largest philanthropic organization, loaned an unspecified amount to MediaNews, the Denver-based company said in an Aug. 8 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Amy Segal, a spokeswoman for the foundation, said she didn't know the investment's size. She said the foundation's investments are handled by Cascade Investment LLC of Kirkland through that company's manager, Michael Larson.
Neither Larson nor Cascade could be reached for comment.
MediaNews, which also owns the Denver Post, agreed in April to buy four newspapers, including the San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times, from McClatchy Co. for $1 billion. MediaNews also bought California's Monterey County Herald and the St. Paul Pioneer Press in Minnesota.
The Aug. 8 filing clarifies the involvement of Hearst Corp. -- owner of the San Francisco Chronicle and the Seattle P-I -- in the MediaNews transaction.
It says Hearst on Aug. 2 bought the Herald and the Pioneer Press for $263.2 million. The same day, Hearst agreed to make an equity investment of $299.4 million in MediaNews, and MediaNews agreed to buy those papers from Hearst.
Hearst's investment gives it about 30 percent interest in the MediaNews publications outside the San Francisco Bay area.
Other lenders besides the Gates Foundation include Blue Shield of California, General Electric Capital Corp., and several banks, including Wachovia and Suntrust.
Gates foundation helps company buy papers
P-I STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is among the organizations that collectively loaned at least $350 million to MediaNews Group Inc. for the acquisition of newspapers in California and Minnesota.
The Seattle-based foundation, the world's largest philanthropic organization, loaned an unspecified amount to MediaNews, the Denver-based company said in an Aug. 8 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Amy Segal, a spokeswoman for the foundation, said she didn't know the investment's size. She said the foundation's investments are handled by Cascade Investment LLC of Kirkland through that company's manager, Michael Larson.
Neither Larson nor Cascade could be reached for comment.
MediaNews, which also owns the Denver Post, agreed in April to buy four newspapers, including the San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times, from McClatchy Co. for $1 billion. MediaNews also bought California's Monterey County Herald and the St. Paul Pioneer Press in Minnesota.
The Aug. 8 filing clarifies the involvement of Hearst Corp. -- owner of the San Francisco Chronicle and the Seattle P-I -- in the MediaNews transaction.
It says Hearst on Aug. 2 bought the Herald and the Pioneer Press for $263.2 million. The same day, Hearst agreed to make an equity investment of $299.4 million in MediaNews, and MediaNews agreed to buy those papers from Hearst.
Hearst's investment gives it about 30 percent interest in the MediaNews publications outside the San Francisco Bay area.
Other lenders besides the Gates Foundation include Blue Shield of California, General Electric Capital Corp., and several banks, including Wachovia and Suntrust.