Cleary Gottlieb is representing Goldman, Sachs & Co., advisor to Knight-Ridder, Inc., in the sale of Knight-Ridder’s Detroit area newspaper interests to Gannett Co., Inc. and MediaNews Group, as well as an exchange of assets between Knight-Ridder and Gannett involving four newspapers and cash consideration.
The sale of newspaper interests arises from Knight-Ridder’s divestiture of both the Detroit Free Press and its partnership interest in the Detroit Newspaper Agency, which managed the business operations of the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News.
In the asset exchange, Knight-Ridder will receive from Gannett The Idaho Statesman and two Washington state newspapers, The Olympian and The Bellingham Herald. In return, Gannett will receive the Tallahassee Democrat and cash consideration. The asset exchange is subject to regulatory clearances and is expected to close in early September.
Knight-Ridder and Gannett are the two largest newspaper publishers in the United States. MediaNews Group is the seventh largest.