Telegram’s parent $1.4B purchase of USA Today publisher to be final on Tuesday
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GateHouse Media's holdings in Central Mass. include three daily, five weeklies, one monthly magazine and now the Gardner News.
The shareholders of the two largest U.S. newspaper publishers – including the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and the MetroWest Daily News – approved their planned $1.4-billion purchase, the companies jointly announced Thursday.
As a result, the cash-and-stock purchase by GateHouse Media of USA Today publisher Gannett will be completed on Tuesday, subject to the customary closing conditions.
“This combination will create the leading U.S. print and digital news organization with deep local roots and national scale,” Michael Reed, chairman and CEO of New Media Investment Group Inc. in New York City, which owns GateHouse, said in a press release.
The companies – the two largest newspaper publishers in the U.S. with a combined 8.8 million subscribers, according to data provider Statista – had been in talks about a possible merger since at least the end of May.
The combined company will now be known as Gannett and will be based at Gannett’s McLean, Va., headquarters.
GateHouse Media publishes the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Worcester Magazine, the MetroWest Daily News and hundreds of other newspapers in Massachusetts and throughout the country. Gannett’s main property is USA Today, although it operates hundreds of local newspapers across the country, mostly outside New England.
Per the terms of the merger, Gannett shareholders will receive $6.25 in cash and 0.5427 of a share in GateHouse parent company New Media Investment Group for each share they hold, representing a total of $12.06 per Gannett common share. Based on the number of Gannett shares, the purchase price comes to $1.4 billion.
When the deal is complete, Gannett shareholders will own 49.5% of the combined company and New Media shareholders will own 50.5%.
Reed will lead the organization, while Gannett’s CFO Alison Engel will continue in that role with the combined company. Paul Bascobert, Gannett’s CEO, will retain the title with the combined company’s operating subsidiary.
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