- New Media Investment Group (NYSE:NEWM) -- owner of the Gatehouse Newspapers -- has a deal to buy The Columbus Dispatch.
- The deal involves the daily newspaper, which was first published in 1871, along with its weekly papers, magazines and distribution arm.
- New Media will fund it with a combination of balance-sheet cash and an incremental $25M on an existing term loan. The company noted $26.9M in cash at last report.
- Dispatch Printing Company (the paper's owner, representing the Wolfe family) will retain broadcast properties including WBNS-TV in Columbus and WTHR-TV in Indianapolis and described the sale as an "extraordinarily difficult" decision.
- New Media expects the deal to close in Q2.