SMI then approached North Bay developer and Poppy Bank founder Bill Gallaher about submitting an offer. Gallaher put a group together and offered $15 million, according to a source involved in the offer—but nothing came of that effort either. [Gallaher is bound by a non-disclosure agreement and would not discuss that offer with NBb .] But in 2025 Hearst wanted a second bite at the apple, approaching SMI early in the year about a sale with $9 million emerging as a potential offer. Hearst told the PD its distribution needed improvement and its union needed to essentially abandon its contract, according to sources familiar with the talks. While unhappy regarding the potential loss of the union contract, the PD staff was willing to discuss changes to the contract for the sake of being acquired by Hearst, which at least had deep journalism experience. In addition to the San Francisco Chronicle , its other media properties include SF Gate , the Houston Chronicle , plus Cosmopolitan and Esquire magazines. Meanwhile, Steve Falk, former publisher and CEO of SMI who retired in 2022, was brought in by SMI to get a sale done. Falk advised the PD staff that if the union didn’t agree to concessions, SMI would be forced to sell to another party—and that party could be Alden Global Capital. An Alden Global sale was treated by the staff as a threat given Alden’s dismal reputation in journalism circles. Then the Hearst deal once again disappeared. After SMI managing partner Darius Anderson reached out to Gallaher again, the Poppy Bank founder put a group together, and this time the bid was $12 million, all cash. But that wasn’t the only offer SMI was entertaining. Alden Global heard the PD was on the block and submitted an
Lawrence Amaturo, publisher of NorthBay biz , was among the local group which made an offer on the Press Democrat.
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September 2025
NorthBaybiz 25
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