New Media Investment Group Inc. (NEWM)

[Enterprising Investor]

New Media Completes Acquisition of The Columbus Dispatch (6/15/15)

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New Media Investment Group Inc. (“New Media” or the “Company”, NYSE:NEWM) announced today that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of the publishing operations and assets of The Columbus Dispatch for $47.0 million in cash. New Media funded the acquisition with a combination of cash on the balance sheet and an incremental $25.0 million on the Company’s existing term loan.

The Columbus Dispatch, first published in 1871, has an extensive history serving Central Ohio as the trusted source for comprehensive local news, politics, sports and entertainment coverage. The newspaper has a deep rooted history providing quality journalism and currently has a daily and Sunday circulation of over 130,000 and 235,000, respectively.

"We are very excited about the acquisition of The Columbus Dispatch and the upside potential that exists for our shareholders,” said Michael E. Reed, New Media’s President and CEO. “To date we have completed nearly $590 million in acquisitions, and have ample liquidity to continue to execute on strategic transactions. Looking ahead, we feel good about our overall business prospects and are very pleased with the tremendous growth we have created in free cash flow per share, which has resulted in a 22% increase in our dividend this year. We expect New Media will continue to be able to grow free cash flow per share throughout 2015 and beyond, and we see a tremendous opportunity to create value for our shareholders.”

About New Media Investment Group Inc.

New Media is focused primarily on investing in a high quality, diversified portfolio of local media assets, and on growing existing advertising and digital marketing businesses. The Company is one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media in the United States as measured by our 126 daily publications. As of April 30, 2015, the Company operates in over 460 markets across 32 states. New Media’s portfolio of products, as of April 30, 2015, include over 550 community publications and over 460 related websites, serve more than 200,000 business advertising accounts and reach over 19 million people on a weekly basis.

For more information regarding New Media and to be added to our email distribution list, please visit www.newmediainv.com.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150615006265/en/Media-Completes-Acquisition-Columbus-Dispatch#.VX9Z1onbKUk