The Evansville Courier & Press and other Journal Media Group newspapers will soon have a new owner.
Journal Media Group properties will become part of Gannett, a newspaper group whose flagship paper is Virginia-based USA Today.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016.
Journal Media Group, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is the corporate parent of the Evansville Courier & Press and the Henderson Gleaner. It owns a total of 15 daily newspapers, and its flagship is the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
When the deal is completed, Gannett will occupy 106 U.S. markets and command a digital audience of more than 100 million unique visitors each month. Within Indiana, Gannett owns the newspapers in Indianapolis, Lafayette, Muncie and Richmond. The Louisville Courier-Journal is also a Gannett property.
Gannett will pay about $280 million cash for Journal Media Group. The deal is subject to the approval of federal regulators and Journal Media Group shareholders.
The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both Gannett and Journal Media Group. Under the terms, Journal Media Group shareholders will receive cash of $12 per share.
Both Gannett and Journal Media Group are newspaper-only companies created through recently completed spinoffs.
Journal Media Group formed when two companies that operated print and broadcast outlets – E.W. Scripps and Journal Communications – formulated a merger/spinoff deal. Likewise, Gannett’s holdings previously included both newspaper and broadcast.
