The Rupert Murdoch-founded News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) (NASDAQ:NWS) announced today that it intends to sell Dow Jones Local Media Group to an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE:FIG).
Dow Jones has been operating for over 100 years and presently employs over 2,000 journalists. Its mainstays include The Wall Street Journal as well as Dow Jones Newswires, DJX, Factiva, Barron’s, MarketWatch and All Things Digital. None of these will be terrifically affected in the deal that focuses on the smaller markets that Dow Jones prints and publishes.
Dow Jones Local Media Group’s new manager
The Dow Jones Local Media Group, which operates 33 publications, including 8 daily and 15 weekly newspapers, will now be managed by GateHouse Media, Inc. (OTCMKTS:GHSE), one of the largest publishers of locally-based print and online media in the United States, with a portfolio of products that includes over 400 community publications and approximately 350 related websites.
Following the sale, Dow Jones will be ridding itself of the Times Herald-Record (Middletown, N.Y.); Cape Cod Times (Hyannis, Mass.); The Record (Stockton, Calif.); The Standard-Times (New Bedford, Mass.); The Pocono Record (Stroudsburg, Penn.); The Herald (Portsmouth, N.H.); The Mail Tribune (Medford, Ore.), and The Daily Tidings (Ashland, Ore.). In addition to daily and weekly newspapers, the Dow Jones Local Media Group operates other print and online community media, including websites, magazines, news and advertising niche publications.
News Corp did not disclose financials
The financials of the deal as of this writing remain undisclosed and few estimates are being offered either by News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) (NASDAQ:NWS) owned publications or in publications of its competitors. GateHouse Media, Inc. (OTCMKTS:GHSE) has also failed to comment on the future of the new publications under its management.
“These newspapers share a strong tradition of service in their communities and a highly talented staff,” said Robert Thomson, Chief Executive of News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) (NASDAQ:NWS). “We are confident that the papers will prosper under the new owners, but they were not strategically consistent with the emerging portfolio of the new News.”
It’s believed that Waller Capital Partners, a leading independent investment bank focused on the telecommunications, media and technology sectors, was involved in the consultation of News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) (NASDAQ:NWS) prior to today’s announced sale.
