The McClatchy Co. has finalized its sales on the last of a dozen former Knight Ridder newspapers following the purchase of the San Hose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times in California by MediaNews Group Inc., and the Monterey Herald in California and St. Paul Pioneer Press in Minnesota by the Hearst Corp. That completes more than $2 billion in sales for all 12 newspapers by McClatchy (NYSE: MNI), the new parent company of the Bradenton Herald.
"This is the final milestone in the McClatchy-Knight Ridder transaction, as we have now closed the sales of all the newspapers we identified for divestiture," said Gary Pruitt, chief executive officer of McClatchy, in a press release. "We are pleased to have executed as we promised in this deal, finding good buyers, getting full prices and helping ensure committed owners for all 12 papers we divested."
When the deal for McClatchy to acquire Knight Ridder was announced last March, company executives said they would sell 12 papers to prevent antitrust concerns by the government. They included the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia's Daily News, Akron Beacon Journal in Ohio, the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader in Pennsylvania, Aberdeen American News in South Dakota, Grand Forks Herald in North Dakota, Fort Wayne News-Sentinel in Indiana, and the Duluth News Tribune in Minnesota.
With the completion of the sale, McClatchy becomes the nation's second-largest newspaper chain behind Gannett Co. with 32 daily newspapers and nearly 50 non-daily papers with a combined daily circulation of 3.2 million.
[Source: Tampa Bay Busness Journal]
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