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Investor group urges New York Times Co. to buy more digital firms

Firebrand Partners and Harbinger Capital, which collectively own 4.9 percent of shares, plan to nominate four board members.

Reuters
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An investor coalition that holds just less than 5 percent of New York Times Co. urged the publisher to spend more money to buy digital companies, according to a regulatory filing on Monday.

The investor group, formed by investment firm Firebrand Partners and hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners, which collectively own about 4.9 percent of the outstanding shares, also said it was not seeking a change in the company's dual-class share structure, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The newspaper publisher and media company Media General said on Friday that Harbinger is seeking to elect members to their respective boards at the next annual meetings.

Scott Galloway Scott Galloway

On Monday, the group formed by Firebrand and Harbinger said it planned to nominate four board members to The New York Times Co. with Internet media and "capital allocation" experience.

They are Scott Galloway, Firebrand's founder; Allen Morgan, managing director of venture capital firm Mayfield Fund; Gregory Shove, a former AOL executive; and James Kohlberg, co-founder of private-equity firm Kohlberg.

"The current board, while impressive in stature, has not been effective in inspiring the requisite bold action this media environment demands," Firebrand's Galloway said in a letter to The New York Times Co. dated January 27 and filed with the SEC on Monday.