New Media Investment Group to Acquire The Palm Beach Post and Palm Beach Daily NewsBack to News

Palm Beach, FL – March 29, 2018 – New Media Investment Group Inc. (NYSE:NEWM), one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media in the United States as measured by number of publications, announced yesterday that it has agreed to acquire the The Palm Beach Post, Palm Beach Daily News and niche publications and companion websites from Cox Media Group, LLC for $49.25 million.

Dirks, Van Essen & Murray, a media merger and acquisition firm based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, represented Cox Media Group in the transaction. The sale is expected to be completed by May.

“We see Palm Beach as another attractive and growing market that fits in well with our current Florida footprint,” said Michael E. Reed, New Media’s president and CEO. He called the papers “the primary source of news in their respective communities for over 100 years” and said they have “created high digital engagement that we are excited to work to build upon.”

“We are looking forward to welcoming the Palm Beach employees to the New Media team,” Reed said, “and look forward to carrying on their legacy of strong local journalism.”

“We are so grateful to the talented team in Palm Beach for their relentless execution of quality journalism and service to the community,” said Kim Guthrie, president of Cox Media Group.“When selecting a buyer for both papers, we sought a company that would build on their role as trusted local brands. We know The Post will make GateHouse proud.”

The Palm Beach Post has daily print and paid digital circulation of nearly 80,000 and 102,000 on Sundays. The Palm Beach Daily News, also known as The Shiny Sheet, has been published for 120 years.

The Shiny Sheet has a daily circulation of more than 4,500 and is printed daily from October to May and twice weekly during the summer.

Their websites average more than 30.2 million page views and eight million visits per month and their social media audience has grown to more than 1.6 million likes and followers.

With the purchase, GateHouse extends a growing Florida presence that will reach for the first time into the state’s southeastern corridor. The company owns 20 other Florida newspapers, with 11 dailies in cities including Sarasota, Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Daytona Beach, Gainesville and Lakeland.

Cox will retain ownership of The Post’s building at Dixie Highway and Belvedere Road in West Palm Beach.