LOS ANGELES — Tribune Publishing has a new name — Tronc — and a newly elected board, but it's still dealing with some old business: dissatisfaction from some shareholders with its decision to spurn a buyout offer from rival Gannett.

Although precise numbers weren't available, a sizable percentage of Tribune shareholders — perhaps close to 40 percent — voiced disapproval with the company by withholding votes from its slate of board candidates, according to Gannett.

One investor filed a lawsuit Wednesday saying the company's board has failed to act in shareholder interests.

Meanwhile, the war of words between the two companies continued, with Tribune blasting Gannett's “symbolic” and “feeble” campaign to sway shareholders to withhold votes. Tribune said its board was elected with support from the majority of shareholders.

Following the vote, Tribune Publishing, the Chicago company that owns The Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times and several other daily newspapers, said Thursday that it would change its name to Tronc, taking the name from technology that executives have said will be crucial to the company's turnaround strategy.

The name change, an acronym for Tribune online content, will take effect June 20, the same day that Tribune Publishing stock will transfer from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq and start trading under the ticker symbol TRNC.

At Thursday's shareholder meeting held in downtown Los Angeles, a Gannett executive made an in-person appeal for the company to reconsider its takeover offer.

“Can Tribune navigate these challenges alone?” asked Gannett's vice president of investor relations, Michael Dickerson, referring to the transition of newspapers from print to digital. “We do not believe so. Gannett continues to have faith in the value of all of Tribune's assets as part of Gannett.”

Gannett said it is still reviewing whether to proceed with its bid to buy Tribune Publishing.

But Lloyd Greif, chief executive of downtown LA investment bank Greif & Co., said Gannett's shareholder campaign appears to have fallen short, probably spelling the end of the company's fight to buy Tribune.

The Tribune board must also contend with a lawsuit filed late Wednesday by Capital Structures Realty Advisors, a small shareholder in San Diego that alleged the board failed to act in shareholders' interests when it rejected two offers from Gannett. Those offers, of $12.25 and $15 per share, represented a huge premium over the company's stock price, which had been near $7.50 before the bid.

The lawsuit had also been widely expected after two large shareholders publicly criticized Tribune's decision to reject those offers.

The suit also targets LA biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong for “aiding and abetting” the board's conduct.

Last month, Soon-Shiong's firm Nant Capital invested $70.5 million for a 12.92 percent stake in Tribune in a move that appeared to be aimed at diminishing the influence of Oaktree Capital Management, a major Tribune shareholder that had publicly pushed Tribune to sell to Gannett. The case aims to undo the stock sale to Soon-Shiong and seeks unspecified damages from Tribune's board of directors.

Tribune Publishing spokeswoman Dana Meyer said the company was reviewing the complaint.

Tribune Publishing stock closed Thursday at $11.38, down about 2 percent for the day.

Tribune Newspapers' Meg James contributed.

jokoyakoren@tribpub.com