Gannett to Sell Mexico Ledger to Westplex Media Group

Gannett Co., Inc. has agreed to sell the twice-weekly Mexico (MO) Ledger to family-owned Westplex Media Group. It is the third community newspaper in Westplex’s portfolio.

Dirks, Van Essen & April, a media merger and acquisition firm based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, represented Gannett in the transaction. Terms of the transaction, scheduled to close on August 31, were not disclosed.

Westplex Media Group owner Tim Schmidt said he is excited to take over stewardship of the publication.

“The Mexico Ledger has a proud history of serving Mexico and surrounding communities throughout Audrain County,” he said. “This expansion is a natural fit for our family-owned company. Our goal is to continue to publish a top-quality product that readers and advertisers have come to expect.”

All current employees of The Ledger will be offered employment by Westplex.

“We will work hard to meet the expectations of our readers and advertisers and produce a publication that our communities can be proud of,” Schmidt said. “Our goal each week is to print a better newspaper than the last one. We're excited to see what the future holds.”

Schmidt, who has nearly 20 years of experience in the newspaper industry, founded Westplex Media Group in 2018 when he purchased the Montgomery Standard, a weekly newspaper in Montgomery City, Missouri. Schmidt added a second weekly newspaper in October 2019 when he acquired the Warren County Record in Warrenton, Missouri.

Gannett’s portfolio includes USA TODAY, local media organizations in 46 states in the U.S. and Guam, and Newsquest, a wholly owned subsidiary with over 140 local media brands operating in the United Kingdom. Gannett also owns the digital marketing services companies ReachLocal, Inc., UpCurve, Inc., and WordStream, Inc. and runs the largest media-owned events business in the U.S., Gannett Ventures, formerly GateHouse Live.