Owner of Nebraska newspapers gets $50M investment

The head of the company that owns most of Nebraska’s newspapers will step down as part of a strategic investment from one of its largest investors.

Lee Enterprises announced Tuesday that President and CEO Kevin Mowbray has retired effective immediately. Mowbray spent nearly 40 years at 13 different Lee publications, including a stint at the Lincoln Journal Star.

Mowbray’s retirement comes as a group of investors has agreed to invest $50 million in the beleaguered company.

The investment is led by David Hoffmann, who has tried several times to buy the company outright. Hoffmann will invest up to $35 million of the $50 million and has agreed to buy additional shares if other investors don’t materialize at a price of $3.25 a share. A year ago, the share price was around $15, and Lee had previously rejected buyout offers that valued its stock as high as $24 a share.

Hoffmann owns other newspapers as well as other businesses. His family-owned company also recently agreed to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins for $1.7 billion.

Hoffmann will take over as chairman of Lee’s board of directors once the deal closes, a role that is currently held by former CEO Mary Junck.

The $50 million investment will allow Lee to reduce the interest rate on its $455.5 million in debt from 9% to 5% for five years, which should give it more breathing room and provide more money to invest in the company. The debt is currently held by Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway.

“This transaction reflects the Board’s determination to act decisively," Junck said in a news release. “By strengthening the balance sheet and improving the Company’s capital structure, we are putting the Company in a better position to execute and create long-term value.”

Like many media companies, Lee Enterprises has been struggling financially, hit by a combination of increased operating costs and declining revenue from subscriptions and advertising.

In addition, the company was hit by a massive cyberattack earlier this year that it said it spent $2 million to recover from, and it also agreed to pay $9.5 million to settle an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit from subscribers.

Lee reported a $36 million loss for its 2025 fiscal year, which ended at the end of September.

That has led to cutbacks at its newspapers, including those in Nebraska. Layoffs in September cut eight positions at the Omaha World-Herald, six at the Journal Star and several others at smaller Nebraska newspapers Lee owns.

Last month, Lincoln and Omaha both stopped publishing print papers on Mondays.

By way of full disclosure, Nebraska Public Media News Director Matt Olberding used to work for Lee Enterprises at the Lincoln Journal Star and Columbus Telegram.