GateHouse Media buys 14 papers

GateHouse Media, owner of the Canton Repository, announced on Tuesday that it will buy 14 daily newspapers in the Midwest and South for $115 million.

GateHouse, based in suburban Rochester, N.Y., said the sale is expected to close by the end of November.

The seller is the Morris Publishing Group, based in Augusta, Ga. Daily newspapers in the sale are in Michigan, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Florida and Tennessee, Morris said.

Morris also is selling three non-daily publications and a commercial printing operation in Michigan to GateHouse. The sale is subject to regulatory approval.

GateHouse bought The Repository in April from Copley Newspapers, along with The Times-Reporter in New Philadelphia, The Independent in Massillon and The Suburbanite in Green. Included in that sale were newspapers in Illinois..

“This is an excellent acquisition opportunity for GateHouse,” Mike Reed, chief executive officer of GateHouse, said in a statement. “These are strong local media franchises in small markets, many of which are near existing GateHouse properties.”

William S. Morris IV, Morris Publishing Group.s chief executive officer and president, stated the sale will enable the company to pay down bank debt.

The sale is subject to regulatory approval.

GateHouse Media currently serves local audiences of more than 10 million per week across 20 states through hundreds of community publications and local websites.

GateHouse Media is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "GHS."