Who's going to buy Knight-Ridder?

Deutche Bank supposes the Tribune

If Knight Ridder goes on the block, Deutsche Bank thinks other newspaper companies -- notably Gannett and Tribune -- would be likely buyers rather than a private equity investor. (The research firm floated the idea of Tribune buying Knight Ridder in a "what-if" scenario in late September). The firm notes that both Gannett and Tribune have the capacity to do an all-cash deal for Knight Ridder. "We think Gannett is a more likely suitor than Tribune, though in our view the strategic fit is better with Tribune," said the note. The reason: "Tribune has no choice but to be a large market newspaper operator. ... The winning strategy for them may be to concentrate resources on developing a viable long-term growth strategy for the large market newspapers, and a component of that probably needs to be the creation of a truly integrated national advertising buy."