Gannett, the parent company of the Arizona Republic, increased its offer to buy the Tribune Publishing Co. to $864 million.

Gannett Company Inc., based in McLean, Va., is willing to pay $15 per share for Tribune Publishing, up from last month’s offer of $12.25 per share. 

Tribune Publishing owns the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and nine other daily newspapers. 

“Our increased offer demonstrates our commitment to engaging in serious and meaningful negotiations with the Tribune board to reach a mutually agreeable transaction where Gannett acquires all of Tribune,” said John Jeffry Louis, Gannett chairman.

He urged Tribune shareholders to send a clear message to their board to engage immediately with Gannett regarding its offer.

In a statement, Tribune, based in Chicago, said its board will review Gannett’s revised offer.

The company noted that on May 4 the Tribune board unanimously rejected Gannett’s unsolicited $12.25 per share cash proposal.

Robert Dickey, Gannett president and CE, said, “Gannett, with the assistance of its outside advisors, is ready to immediately engage with Tribune on an expedited basis.” 

In a letter Monday to the Tribune board, Gannett wrote:

“We believe that we have a unique opportunity right now to create an even stronger, industry-leading multi-platform media company committed to high-quality “local-to-national” journalism through our USA Today Network. Given the benefits of an acquisition of Tribune, its high-quality assets, and its talented employees, we also believe that time is of the essence to proceed with this transaction.”