Lee Enterprises directors re-elected despite hedge fund fight

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Three directors at newspaper publisher Lee Enterprises have been reelected over the objections of the hedge fund that has been trying to buy the company since last fall.

Lee says its chairman, CEO, and lead independent director were all reelected as expected at its annual meeting Thursday, with each receiving support from more than 70% of the votes cast. Alden Global Capital had urged shareholders to vote against two of those directors after a judge blocked its effort to nominate its own directors.

Alden, which already owns more than 200 newspapers, probably won’t abandon its effort to buy Lee after this latest setback, but it wasn’t immediately clear what the New York-based hedge fund might try next.

According to its website, Lee publishes 77 daily newspapers — including the Omaha World-Herald, the Daily Nonpareil in Council Bluffs, and Lincoln Journal-Star — in 26 states.