But at the end of the process , which attracted interest from Gannett , William Dean Singleton 's MediaNews Group and various private equity groups , only McClatchy made a formal bid : valuing the company at $ 4.5 billion , it would buy Knight Ridder through a combination of cash and stock .
William Dean Singleton /business/person/company MediaNews Group
CC IN DT NN IN DT NN , WDT VBD NN IN NNP , NNP NNP NNP POS NNP NNP CC JJ JJ NN NNS , RB NNP VBD DT JJ NN : VBG DT NN IN $ CD CD , PRP MD VB NNP NNP IN DT NN IN NN CC NN .
William Dean Singleton
PERSON
MediaNews Group
ORGANIZATION
/business/person/company