we saw that...

FLASH: vultures circling media general inc/kalb

Harbert Raises Media General Stake
Funds Affiliated With Harbert Management Corp. Raise Stake in Media General to 18.4 Percent
January 18, 2008: 10:05 AM EST

NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Harbert Management Corp. on Friday raised its stake in Media General Inc., a newspaper publisher and television station operator, to 18.4 percent, according to an amended filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The group owns about 4.1 million shares, or an 18.4 percent based on 22.1 million shares outstanding as of Nov. 4.

In December, the investor group reported owning 2.2 million shares, or a 9.9 percent stake in the Richmond, Va.-based company.

Harbert Management said it may contact the company and other shareholders regarding potential changes in operation or management to enhance value.

The group also said it is considering nominating one or more individuals to the company's board of directors at the next shareholder meeting.

according to this story from reuters it's actually harbinger management corp., through its hedge fund harbinger capital partners that increased its stake in media general.

business week has this on harbinger:

Harbinger Capital Partners is a privately owned hedge fund sponsor. The firm invests in the public equity and hedging markets across the globe. It focuses on restructurings, liquidations, event-driven situations, turnarounds, capital structure arbitrage, and short sales of securities to make its investments. The firm typically invests in value securities. It employs a fundamental analysis with a bottom-up stock picking approach to create its portfolios. Harbinger Capital Partners is based in Birmingham, Alabama. Harbinger Capital Partners is a subsidiary of Harbert Management Corporation. ~ source

so it looks to us like media general/kalb is about to get "gordon gekko'ed" which is good and long over due.

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