By: E&P Staff JAMS Media, the Lapeer, Mich.-based publisher of View Newspapers is purchasing the assets of 13 Lapeer Group non-dailies from Journal Register Co., the brokerage firm Dirks, Van Essen & Murray announced Thursday.
The purchase agreement was approved May 29 by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Allan L. Gropper sitting in the Southern District of New York. Journal Register filed a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February. Included in the purchase of the 13 Michigan papers were the flagship County Press in Lapeer; the County Press Extra; County Press Marquee; County Line Reminder; Tri-County Citizen in Chesaning; Sanilac County News; Sanilac Extra; Sanilac Buyers Guide; Thumb Blanket; Huron County Press; the Jeffersonian in Croswell; Brown City Banner and Homeseekers.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Santa Fe, N.M.-based Dirks, Van Essen represented Journal Register in the transaction.
"We're glad to have (The County Press), one of the oldest newspapers in the country back in local hands right here in Lapeer," said Rick Burrough, a lifelong resident of Lapeer and president of JAMS Media.
JAMS Media owns View Newspapers, which includes the Lapeer Area View;
Grand Blanc View; Burton View and the Davison Index. With the acquisition, JAMS Media will have papers with a combined circulation of nearly 250,000 homes in eight southern and middle Michigan counties.
JAMS Media will be managed by group publisher Peter Neill, who was an
executive with the parent company of the Chicago Sun-Times for 22 years and more recently vice president and general manager of the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers in Livonia, Michigan, a community newspaper group managed by the Detroit Media Partnership. Lapeer Group papers will be headquartered in Lapeer and printed at Michigan Web Press, a Davisburg printer owned by Burrough.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here