Against the backdrop of the changing news industry landscape, America’s second largest newspaper group, Digital First Media said it has initiated a process to evaluate and consider strategic alternatives including an option for sale.
“The news information industry in America is undergoing a period of seismic change, defined by the need to consolidate to rapidly compete in a digital world,” Chief Executive Officer of Digital First Media, John Paton said on Friday.
“The companies that will succeed are those which have meaningful scale and digital expertise,” he added.
Owner of several leading U.S. newspapers including San Jose Mercury News , Los Angeles Daily News and Denver Post , DFM is the second-largest newspaper company in the U.S. by circulation, and has a strong, high-quality and diverse portfolio of 800 multi-platform news and information products that spans 15 States and includes 76 daily or Sunday newspapers, 160 weekly publications as part of serving 75 million customers monthly.
In its statement, the company noted that strategic alternatives may include, but are not limited to, the sale of the company as whole, the sale of one or more regional clusters, or the continued execution of its business plan.
“By anticipating the rapid revolution in our industry and responding to stay ahead of the curve, DFM has clearly emerged as a leading player, based on the high quality of our assets and the extensive work we have done to transform them into multi-platform products that deliver outstanding local news and exceptional opportunities for advertisers,” Mr. Paton said.
“As a result, we believe we have many options available to us to maximise the value of our businesses for our stockholders, and the Board of Directors has therefore decided to assess the full range of those opportunities,” he said.
