The deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016 if it receives regulatory and shareholder approval, adds Wisconsin's biggest newspaper to Gannett, which already owns newspapers in Green Bay, the Fox Valley and other important markets in the state.
The agreement is part of an era of further consolidation in the U.S. newspaper industry, as newly pure-play newspaper companies take steps to meet the competitive threat of scaled digital news and advertising businesses, the companies said in a statement.
When the deal is completed, Gannett, the parent company of USA Today, The Arizona Republic and The Indianapolis Star, will be in 106 U.S. markets and have a digital audience of more than 100 million unique visitors each month.
In addition to the Journal Sentinel, Journal Media Group owns papers in more than a dozen other markets, including in Memphis and Knoxville, Tenn., where Gannett owns the Nashville newspaper, and in Naples and Treasure Coast in Florida, where Gannett owns the Fort Myers paper.
The companies estimated in a joint news release that the deal will yield about $10 million in immediate savings and the potential for $25 million more over the next two years. That is anticipated through the consolidation of a variety of functions, including corporate operations, printing and distribution, the companies said.
Both companies underwent major transitions in the past year. Journal Media Group was created in April after The E.W. Scripps Co. and Journal Communications merged their local TV operations and spun off their respective newspaper assets into an independent, publicly traded company based in Milwaukee.
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