The hedge fund's newspaper business, Digital First Media, is bidding to buy Gannett, operator of the nation's largest chain of daily newspapers by circulation, including USA Today - as well as its $900 million in remaining property and equipment - for more than $1.3 billion. The tactics employed by Alden and Digital First Media are well-chronicled: They buy newspapers already in financial distress, including big-city dailies such as the San Jose Mercury News and the Denver Post, reap the cash flow and lay off editors, reporters and photographers to boost profits. In response to questions sent to Alden and Digital First, also known as MNG Enterprises, spokeswoman Renée Soto declined to offer any examples of the company investing anew in its media properties. After Alden purchased a stake in the discount chain Payless ShoeSource, the company filed for bankruptcy and announced it would close 400 locations and take bids on those leases from other firms. Finally, according to court filings, Alden profits are directed to another firm - Strategic Investment Opportunities LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Digital First for which Alden serves as investment manager - to be redeployed elsewhere. According to securities filings, Alden's affiliated accounts still have 41 percent of their $1.4 billion under management in cash - meaning the company has some firepower for more deals - but skeptics question whether it's enough to land Gannett. Digital First asked that the company halt digital investments altogether and wait to hire a chief executive to replace Robert J. Dickey, who will step down in May. Fuchs wrote of the company: "We save newspapers and position them for a strong and profitable future so they can weather the secular decline." It offered to buy Gannett for $12 a share, or $1.36 billion. Read more