By: Lee Enterprises Inc. of Davenport, Iowa, said Thursday it will buy the 50% interest in the
Sioux City (Iowa)
Journal that it doesn't currently own from the Hagadone Corp. of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
Lee said the transaction is valued at $60.3 million, with the chain paying $59.3 million in cash plus a group of weekly publications in Montana that will be transferred to Hagadone. Lee will recognize a loss of $5.2 million for the weeklies.
Lee just purchased 50% of the
Sioux City Journal in April from Howard Publications.
In a statement, Lee CEO Mary Junck said the chain will focus on aggressive advertising sales, circulation growth, and online initiatives at the
Journal.
Hagadone President Duane B. Hagadone said the Montana weeklies will complement the chain's
Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell. The Lee group includes six newspapers, a shopper, and a free weekly.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here