ANSWER ASAP. WILL UPVOTE When Tribune Publishing renamed the company 'tronc,' analysts wondered if it was the worst corp

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ANSWER ASAP. WILL UPVOTE
When Tribune Publishing renamed the company 'tronc,' analysts
wondered if it was the worst corporate rebrand ever and twitter lit
up with abusive comments. One tweeter wrote, "I think 'TRONC' is
the sound journalists make the second before they barf after seeing
company memos about "content and monetization."
Tribune Publishing made the controversial move to "tronc" in the
midst of a bruising takeover battle. In May 2016, the Tribune
Publishing board rejected a second all-cash buyout offer from
Gannett Publishing, $15/share, up from an initial unsolicited bid
of $12.25. The debate became public and heated, as Gannett made an
appeal directly to the Tribune's non-management shareholders. The
effort failed.
To bolster their contention that the company was worth more than
Gannett was offering, the Tribune announced a strategic
redirection: a new stock listing, the name "tronc," and a goal of
posting 1,000 videos a day with AI software. The over century-old
publisher of newspapers was billing itself as a multi-platform
"content creator."
Tronc's leadership's interest in re-categorizing their
enterprise as a tech company rather than a publisher was rooted in
the problems of the newspaper industry. For newspapers, circulation
was dropping, and advertising revenues were dropping even faster.
Newspaper publishers were seeking new business models to sustain
operations. The troubles of the newspaper industry, however, made
valuation of publishing companies controversial. Some investors
seemed to be paying hefty premiums for the right to control
well-known newspapers.
After their early summer skirmishes, negotiators for tronc and
Gannett continued meeting behind closed doors trying to find a
mutually acceptable price. In October 2016, rumors were swirling
that the two sides had come to an agreement at a price of $18.75
per share. However, the banks that were set to finance Gannett's
purchase announced that they would not support the deal. The
negotiations collapsed and the stock price of both Gannett and
tronc slid.
The failure of the acquisition raised all kinds of questions.
Should the Tribune's board have accepted Gannett's offer of $15 per
share? If not, what was the right price? What is the best way to
value a company like tronc? Did the strategic repositioning of
tronc make any difference?