WSJ: GateHouse Media nears deal to purchase Gannett

Updated 7:30 p.m.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA, owner of The Providence Journal, is reportedly nearing a deal to purchase Gannett. / PBN FILE PHOTO/BRIAN MCDONALD
GATEHOUSE MEDIA, owner of The Providence Journal, is reportedly nearing a deal to purchase Gannett. / PBN FILE PHOTO/BRIAN MCDONALD

PROVIDENCE – GateHouse Media Inc., which owns The Providence Journal and several other local publications, is getting close to a deal to purchase USA Today publisher Gannett Co., the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The companies reportedly began talks in May.

The cash-and-stock deal under consideration would involve the purchase of Gannett by GateHouse or its parent company, New Media Investment Group Inc. GateHouse CEO and Chairman Mike Reed would assume the same roles at the new, larger entity, WSJ reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the plan.

If the deal is successful, it would create the largest newspaper chain in the country. With 156 dailies and 464 weeklies, GateHouse is currently the largest newspaper publisher in the U.S. by titles owned, but it is No. 2 by circulation, behind Gannett, which owns 109 dailies.

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In addition to The Providence Journal, GateHouse owns and operates the Newport Daily News, Fall River Herald News, Taunton Daily Gazette and New Bedford Standard-Times.

Although the price couldn’t be learned, the deal could be announced in the next few weeks, WSJ reported.

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