Alden Global Capital has said it will urge shareholders to vote against Lee Enterprises’ board nominations, after a Delaware Chancery Court judge ruled Lee was correct in rejecting their nominations.

An Alden affiliate had “missed the deadline” for properly making nominations, and had not completed the transfer of stock needed to make it a shareholder of record.

The ruling – with a view that Lee’s action in failing to accommodate the nominations was not a defence to keep control of the company – means Lee’s nominations can be approved at its annual meeting on March 10.

But Alden said in a press release that it will urge shareholders via a proxy statement to vote ‘no’ to the re-election of board veterans Mary Junck and Herbert Moloney.

Alden claims the two have “become self-serving” over a period of 20 years and stand in the way of actions that would increase the company’s value.

Poynter’s Rick Edmonds quoted a Lee spokesperson that Alden was inventing “entirely new, hollow governance complaints in its continuing and transparent attempt to destabilise the board and the company’s leadership to help advance its grossly undervalued hostile offer for Lee”.

He described criticisms of board members and attempts to gain seats as “standard tactics in the hostile takeover playbook”, which had been used by Alden in its campaign to undermine management of Tribune Publishing. It ultimately bought the company last summer.

Lee shares have reached US$36.50 recently, a substantial premium on Alden’s US$24 a share offer.