New Media Announces Agreement to Acquire the Akron Beacon Journal for $16.0 Million & Announces Agreement to Sell Substantial...
April 11 2018 - 4:15PM
Business Wire
New Media Investment Group Inc. (“New Media” or the “Company”,
NYSE: NEWM), one of the largest publishers of locally based print
and online media in the United States as measured by number of
publications, announced today that it has agreed to acquire
substantially all of the publishing and related assets of the Akron
Beacon Journal from Black Press, Ltd. (“Black Press”) for $16.0
million. In a separate transaction, New Media has agreed to sell
substantially all of the publishing and related assets of GateHouse
Media Alaska Holdings, Inc. (“Alaska Properties”) to Black
Press.
The Akron Beacon Journal has been the newspaper of record in
Greater Akron for over 175 years. It has a daily circulation of
over 68,000 and also offers the leading digital source of news for
the local market, Ohio.com. It has received the Pulitzer Prize four
times and annually receives many accolades for its journalism.
Akron is located in northeast Ohio and is the fifth-largest city in
the state and is the county seat of Summit County. It has a low
cost of living and strong retail sales, with both per capita income
and median home values higher than the state average.
“The Akron Beacon Journal is a great addition to our large Ohio
footprint of properties,” said Michael E. Reed, New Media President
and Chief Executive Officer. “In addition to being a long-standing
dominant source of award-winning journalism, its proximity to our
properties in Wooster, Canton and Columbus is very exciting as we
see many opportunities for growth. We look forward to working with
the team in Akron to further enhance the partnership the
publications have within their community.”
“We would like to thank the employees of the Alaska Properties
for their great work during their time as part of our family. Given
the distance to the rest of our footprint, we did not feel New
Media was the strongest strategic owner for them and we believe
Black Press will be better positioned to bring them future
success.”
Black Press Chairman, David Black is excited to acquire the
Alaska properties from New Media. “The newspapers in Alaska will
fit in well with our publications in Washington State and British
Columbia, and we are looking forward to being stewards of these
well respected titles.”
We expect both transactions to close in the second quarter.
About New Media Investment Group
Inc.
New Media supports small to mid-sized communities by providing
locally-focused print and digital content to its consumers and
premier marketing and technology solutions to its small and medium
business partners. The Company is one of the largest publishers of
locally based print and online media in the United States as
measured by our 142 daily publications. As of December 31, 2017,
New Media operates in over 565 markets across 38 states reaching
over 22 million people on a weekly basis and serves approximately
215,000 business customers.
For more information regarding New Media and to be added to our
email distribution list, please visit www.newmediainv.com.
Forward-Looking
Statements
Certain items in this press release may constitute
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not
limited to, statements regarding our ability to complete the
anticipated acquisition and anticipated disposition described in
this press release and the anticipated timing of closing each such
transaction, our ability to grow our business, including in the
Ohio markets, if the described acquisition is completed and other
potential benefits of each of the anticipated transactions. These
statements are based on management’s current expectations and
beliefs and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties,
such as general economic conditions in the markets in which we
operate, closing conditions of each of the anticipated
transactions, inadequate diligence and difficulties integrating and
reducing expenses following the anticipated acquisition. These and
other risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ
materially from those described in the forward-looking statements,
many of which are beyond our control. The Company can give no
assurance that its expectations will be attained. Accordingly, you
should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements
contained in this press release. For a discussion of some of the
risks and important factors that could cause actual results to
differ from such forward-looking statements, see the risks and
other factors detailed from time to time in the Company’s Annual
Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other
filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Furthermore, new risks and uncertainties emerge
from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to
predict or assess the impact of every factor that may cause its
actual results to differ from those contained in any
forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements speak
only as of the date of this press release. The Company expressly
disclaims any obligation to release publicly any updates or
revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to
reflect any change in the Company’s expectations with regard
thereto or change in events, conditions or circumstances on which
any statement is based.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180411006312/en/
New Media Investment Group Inc.Ashley Higgins, Investor
Relations212-479-3160ir@newmediainv.com
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