GateHouse Media and Gannett, the country’s two largest newspaper publishers, have agreed to merge, New Media Investment Group announced Monday.
New Media, which owns GateHouse, will buy Gannett in a cash-and-stock deal worth about $1.38 billion. The combined company will retain the Gannett name and be based out of its headquarters in McLean, Va.
The merger will create a company that operates 265 daily newspapers and hundreds more weekly publications across 47 states. It will own one in six daily newspapers in the U.S. and have a combined print circulation of 8.7 million.
New Media CEO Michael Reed and Gannett CFO Alison Engel will remain in the same positions with the new company. Paul Bascobert, recently appointed CEO of Gannett, will be CEO of the “combined company’s operating subsidiary.”
In Wisconsin, Gannett owns 11 daily newspapers, including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Green Bay Press-Gazette. It also publishes several weekly publications in the state, including the Door County Advocate and the Now News Group papers covering suburban Milwaukee.
The Daily Reporter in Milwaukee is Wisconsin’s only GateHouse newspaper.
