Media General to Acquire Newspaper Groups From Thomson

Posted on June 15, 2000

Media General has agreed to acquire three newspaper clusters in its core southeastern region from Thomson Newspapers for approximately $237 million. The groups are located in Florence, SC, and in southern and eastern Alabama. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

The Florence Morning News leads the South Carolina cluster with daily circulation of 33,971 and 35,564 on Sunday. This group also includes five weeklies. One of the Alabama clusters is led by The Dothan Eagle, with daily circulation of 35,509 and 37,173 on Sunday. This group also includes the Enterprise Ledger (9,513 daily), the Jackson County Floridian (5,874 daily), and two small weekly papers. The other Alabama cluster is led by the Opelika- Auburn News, with daily circulation of 13,931.

``For the first time, the footprint of our Publishing Division will extend into South Carolina and Alabama,'' said J. Stewart Bryan III, Media General's chairman and chief executive officer. ``These markets are the best that Thomson has to offer in the Southeast. The newspapers that serve them are already quite profitable, but we see room for immediate improvements and exceptional prospects for long-term growth."

Media General is an independent, publicly owned communications company situated primarily in the Southeast with interests in newspapers, television, interactive media, recycled newsprint production, and diversified information services. Media General's publishing assets include The Tampa Tribune, the Richmond Times-Dispatch and 19 other daily newspapers in Virginia, North Carolina and Florida, as well as nearly 100 weeklies and other periodicals and a 20 percent interest in The Denver Post.