GateHouse Media closes in on Gannett to form US newspaper colossus
Gatehouse Media, the largest publisher of daily newspapers across the US, is reportedly in process of making a final push to acquire America’s largest newspaper chain by circulation, Gannett, in a deal which would see the creation of a print colossus.
GateHouse Media closes in on Gannett to form US newspaper colossus
According to the New York Post negotiations are continuing between the two with the likelihood of such a deal happening put at around 75% and no agreement is thought to be ‘imminent’.
If it does come to pass it would send shockwaves through the US publishing industry with Gatehouse adding its staple of 700 titles to those of its larger rival, helping it to capitalise on economies of scale.
Before such a publishing powerhouse can form however negotiators will have to thrash out potentially deal-breaking issues such as Gannett’s onerous pension liabilities which could still prevent the pair from coming together.
Gannett’s potential sale has been heralded as a harbinger for a similar wave of consolidation in the UK with Trinity Mirror stating that any such move would fire the ‘starting pistol’ for mirrored moves on the other side of the Atlantic.