NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New Media Investment Group Inc. (“New Media” or the “Company”, NYSE:NEWM), one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media in the United States as measured by number of publications, announced today that it has agreed to acquire several newspapers and related assets from Calkins Media, Inc. (“Calkins”) for $17.5 million, within New Media’s stated acquisition range of 3.5x – 4.5x LTM As Adjusted EBITDA. We expect the transaction to close within the next 30 days.
Calkins, the family-owned collection of local media assets in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh suburbs, is selling four six-day-a-week newspapers and one weekly in addition to online and digital products. Privately owned and operated for 80 years, Calkins has consistently been recognized for its quality news coverage, editorial content, printing quality, and digital news innovation. New Media is acquiring The Intelligencer (19,000 week-day circulation, 27,000 Sunday circulation), The Bucks County Courier-Times (23,000 weekday circulation, 35,000 Sunday circulation), The Burlington County Times (15,000 weekday circulation, 22,000 Sunday circulation), and The Beaver County Times (18,000 weekday circulation, 24,000 Sunday circulation). In addition to the print publications, the acquisition also includes the operations of the Calkins Digital Group, a press facility and all related websites and other digital operations.
“New Media is honored that the Calkins family has chosen us as the future owners of their newspapers. We are excited to be expanding our footprint in Pennsylvania and look forward to working with their employees to further enhance the strong partnerships they have built over the past 80 years,” said Michael E. Reed, New Media President and Chief Executive Officer. “The Calkins publications have been consistently recognized for their high quality journalism as well as for innovation. Their digital group has been pioneering the use of video and streaming content, which is something we are excited to explore further across our New Media footprint.”
About New Media Investment Group Inc.
New Media supports small to mid-size communities by providing locally-focused print and digital content to its consumers and premier marketing and technology solutions for our small and medium businesses partners. The Company is one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media in the United States as measured by our 130 daily publications. As of March 26, 2017, the Company operates in over 555 markets across 36 states. New Media’s portfolio of products, as of March 26, 2017, include over 650 community publications and over 555 websites, serve more than 225,000 business advertising accounts, and reaches over 23 million people on a weekly basis.
For more information regarding New Media and to be added to our email distribution list, please visit www.newmediainv.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain items in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the anticipated transaction. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These and other risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, many of which are beyond our control. The Company can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements contained in this press release. For a discussion of some of the risks and important factors that could cause actual results to differ from such forward-looking statements, see the risks and other factors detailed from time to time in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Furthermore, new risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict or assess the impact of every factor that may cause its actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations with regard thereto or change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.
