Shareholders in takeover target DallasNews are being urged to accept a takeover offer by US giant Hearst, with the board’s chairman calling a proposal by Alden affiliate MNG Enterprises “illusory”.

A definitive proxy statement has been filed, with shareholders to receive US$15 (A$23.12) cash per share, a premium of 242 per cent on the $4.39 at which they closed on July 9.

By contrast, chairman John Beckert says the Alden proposal is “an illusory, non-binding expression of interest that will not be consummated”. Beckert says the Hearst deal is “ an exciting transaction” that has the unanimous support of both the board and the company’s largest shareholder Robert W. Decherd.

A special meeting is to be held on September 23.

In a letter to shareholders, Beckert says the merger consideration “provides certainty of value and liquidity to shareholders”, and if not approved by shareholders, the company will continue to operate DallasNews as an independent organisation.

Confirming he will vote for the merger, Decherd said he was confident of Hearst’s commitment to upholding DallasNews’ legacy, and its ability to further a “historic commitment to meeting community news and information needs with journalistic excellence”.

He has said that there is no “scenario involving Alden or its affiliates as a buyer which he would support. As long as he is the controlling shareholder, Alden will never own DallasNews”. The Hearst transaction requires the support of two-thirds of holders of series A and series B shares.

As reported in GXpress, the Dallas Morning News has just commissioned two single-width lines to replace its 1980s press, saving an estimated US$5 million a year.

Pictured: The 46-storey Hearst Tower in New York, rises almost 183 metres above the building originally built by William Randolph Hearst in 1928