Hedge fund pressures media firms

New York Times Co. and Media General Inc. said Friday that hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners was pushing to elect members to the media companies’ boards of directors at annual meetings this spring.

New York Times Co. said it would review Harbinger’s attempt to nominate four new directors at its April 22 annual meeting and make a recommendation to its shareholders.

Media General described the hedge fund’s move to nominate three new members to its board at an April 24 annual meeting as hostile and disruptive.

Both companies have dual stock structures that would make it hard for outsiders to force change.

Media General said Harbinger had increased its “economic interest” in its Class A stock to more than 21%.

New York Times Co. has not met with Harbinger to discuss the reason for the unsolicited nominations, Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis said. The hedge fund seeks to replace the directors elected by holders of publicly traded Class A shares. Harbinger owns less than 5% of those shares.