NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New Media Investment Group Inc. one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media in the United States as measured by number of publications, announced today that it has agreed to acquire substantially all of the publishing and related assets of the Akron Beacon Journal from Black Press, Ltd. for $16.0 million. In a separate transaction, New Media has agreed to sell substantially all of the publishing and related assets of GateHouse Media Alaska Holdings, Inc. (“Alaska Properties”) to Black Press.

The Akron Beacon Journal has been the newspaper of record in Greater Akron for over 175 years. It has a daily circulation of over 68,000 and also offers the leading digital source of news for the local market, Ohio.com. It has received the Pulitzer Prize four times and annually receives many accolades for its journalism. Akron is located in northeast Ohio and is the fifth-largest city in the state and is the county seat of Summit County. It has a low cost of living and strong retail sales, with both per capita income and median home values higher than the state average.

“The Akron Beacon Journal is a great addition to our large Ohio footprint of properties,” said Michael E. Reed, New Media President and Chief Executive Officer. “In addition to being a long-standing dominant source of award-winning journalism, its proximity to our properties in Wooster, Canton and Columbus is very exciting as we see many opportunities for growth. We look forward to working with the team in Akron to further enhance the partnership the publications have within their community.”

“We would like to thank the employees of the Alaska Properties for their great work during their time as part of our family. Given the distance to the rest of our footprint, we did not feel New Media was the strongest strategic owner for them and we believe Black Press will be better positioned to bring them future success.”

Black Press Chairman, David Black is excited to acquire the Alaska properties from New Media. “The newspapers in Alaska will fit in well with our publications in Washington State and British Columbia, and we are looking forward to being stewards of these well respected titles.”

We expect both transactions to close in the second quarter.

About New Media Investment Group Inc.

New Media supports small to mid-sized communities by providing locally-focused print and digital content to its consumers and premier marketing and technology solutions to its small and medium business partners. The Company is one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media in the United States as measured by our 142 daily publications. As of December 31, 2017, New Media operates in over 565 markets across 38 states reaching over 22 million people on a weekly basis and serves approximately 215,000 business customers.

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