Tribune Publishing Co.'s board of directors has rejected an unsolicited acquisition offer from Gannett Co., calling it an "opportunistic" bid that undervalued the company and wasn't in the best interest of shareholders.

"While the board is always open to evaluating any credible proposal that it believes to be in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders, Gannett's opportunistic proposal understates the Company's true value and is not a basis for further discussion," Chief Executive Justin Dearborn said in a letter to Gannett. Tribune disclosed the letter in a statement on Wednesday.

A representative for Gannett didn't have an immediate response.

Gannett went public on April 25 with its proposal to acquire Tribune for about $400 million and the assumption of debt, saying it was frustrated by the company's slow response.

The two sides had sparred in increasingly testy public letters, with Tribune accusing Gannett of "playing games" and calling its approach "aggressive and hostile." Earlier this week, Gannett urged Tribune's shareholders not to back Tribune's slate of board nominees at the annual meeting on June 2 to send a message to the company to engage in talks.

Tribune's stock price had tumbled as much as 70% since its 2014 spinoff from television properties that now comprise Tribune Media Co., before partly rebounding when Gannett's offer of $12.25 a share was made public. Tribune shares closed down 1.4% Wednesday at $11.02.

After market, Tribune reported that it swung to a loss in the first quarter, amid restructuring charges and declining advertising revenue.

Write to Lukas I. Alpert at lukas.alpert@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 04, 2016 17:35 ET (21:35 GMT)

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