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GateHouse Media

GateHouse Media Inc. was an American publisher of locally based print and digital media. It published 144 daily newspapers, 684 community publications, and over 569 local-market websites in 38 states. Its parent company, New Media Investment Group, acquired Gannett in 2019, with the combined company using the Gannett name and maintaining its headquarters in Virginia.

Liberty Group Publishing was formed in 1998 when Kenneth L. Serota, a former Hollinger International attorney with backing from Leonard Green & Partners, bought 160 community newspapers from Hollinger. Headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, Liberty then expanded the network increasing the total newspapers to 330 by 2000. Faced with problems, it downsized to 270 by June 2005.[citation needed]

In June 2005, Fortress Investment Group bought Liberty for $527 million. Fortress expanded it to 75 dailies, 231 weeklies, 117 shoppers, and 230 websites. It was renamed GateHouse and its headquarters moved to suburban Rochester, New York, in April 2006.[citation needed] In October 2006, GateHouse had its IPO with Fortress maintaining 60% ownership. On October 23, 2007, GateHouse announced the purchase of 14 daily newspapers and other publications from Morris Communications.

The company received notification from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on August 21, 2008, that it had fallen below the NYSE's continued listing standards for average global market capitalization over a consecutive 30-trading-day period of not less than $75 million and $1.00 average closing price, and had submitted a business plan to the NYSE Regulation for coming back into compliance for continued listing. The company has been in communication with the NYSE regarding its noncompliance with continued listing standards, but was unsuccessful in its efforts to avoid suspension and delisting.

On September 4, 2013, News Corp announced that it would sell the Dow Jones Local Media Group, a group of 33 local newspapers, to Newcastle Investment Corp, an affiliate of Fortress, for $87 million. The newspapers were operated by GateHouse Media following the purchase. CEO Robert James Thomson indicated that the newspapers "were not strategically consistent with the emerging portfolio" of the company, which had been formed as a spin-off of News Corporation.

By 2013, GateHouse Media grew, operating in 330 markets across 21 states, but they found themselves in a debt situation that would prohibit future growth. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware on September 27, 2013. It listed assets of $433.7 million and debt of $1.3 billion. The planned bankruptcy centered on restructuring the Fortress News Corp deal. Fortress owned 52% of GateHouse debt. Gatehouse re-emerged from the planned bankruptcy in November 2013. In the restructured plan, Gatehouse stock was cancelled and a new holding company for the parent, New Media Investment Group, Inc., was formed. The terms involved the cancellation of shares of Gatehouse, but those owners receiving warrants to buy shares in New Media Investment Group Inc.

Subsequently, Gatehouse Media acquired several newspaper groups between 2014 and 2017, including Halifax, Stephens Media, Calkins Media and Morris Publications. They also acquired Dolan Media Group and Journal Multimedia, adding business publications to their portfolio. The combined group of business publications was rebranded as BridgeTower Media.

The GateHouse Media corporate strategy continues to focus on acquiring and operating traditional local media businesses and transforming them from print-centric operations to multimedia operations. As of April 2018, GateHouse Media was publishing 144 daily newspapers, 684 community publications, and over 569 local market websites in 38 states.

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