Dan Cirucci: Local Investors Buy Philly Newspapers For $55 Million

Monday, April 2, 2012

Local Investors Buy Philly Newspapers For $55 Million

So, the deal is done.
And it was announced today.
Headed by lawyer and businessman Lewis Katz, 70 (right) of Cherry Hill a local group of investors has purchased the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News and philly.com for $55 million from a collection of hedge funds. The new group promises an additional $10 million in working capital for operations.
Last week we pegged the buying price at $56 million and we were almost right on the nose.
We also said the purchase was a done deal and that an announcement was imminent. We were right about that as well.
The new owners also includes Democratic leader George E. Norcross III, 56, and H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest, 81, Holtec International Corp. chief executive officer Krishna P. "Kris" Singh, 64, and Liberty Property Trust CEO William P. Hankowsky, 61, and Joseph Buckelew, 81, chairman of Conner Strong Buckelew, an insurance brokerage based in South Jersey.
Reportedly, Katz and Norcross will serve as managing partners of Interstate General Media L.L.C., the new parent company; Lenfest will serve as chairman of the board. The enterprise will still do business as Philadelphia Media Network.

The new owners say they will retain PMN's management team headed by Greg Osberg and three of the six owners have already signed a pledge today saying they will not interfere with the operations of PMN's three newsrooms. That pledge was supposedly drafted by the three editors of the Inquirer, Daily News and philly.com. All of the owners say they will sign it.

The value of the two newspapers and the web site has steadily declined and the three media outlets have been plagued by lagging revenue and attendant layoffs. Just six years ago the company was purchased for $515 million by a group that later declared itself bankrupt. Now, it's been sold for a fraction of that amount.

It's no secret that newspapers are hurting and web sites are hard top monetize, let alone sustain.

The Inquirer, Daily News and philly.com have had four owners in six years.

No comments:

Post a Comment

About Dan Cirucci

He has been cited by Rush Limbaugh, quoted in the New York Times, featured at Real Clear Politics and Lucianne.com and interviewed on radio, TV and in social media.

He's Dan Cirucci, the founder and editor-in chief of the Dan Cirucci Blog, Matt Rooney's sidekick on Save Jersey's videocasts and one of the most widely honored public relations professionals in his field. He's also been a public relations consultant to numerous organizations and individuals and hosted The Advocates on RVN-TV.

Inducted into the Philadelphia Public Relations Hall of Fame, for many years he served as a Lecturer in Corporate Communication at Penn State University. A former President of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association (PPRA) he has lectured at Rowan University, Temple University, The College of New Jersey and Arcadia University. He has conducted workshops on public relations for thousands of participants throughout the nation and has taught countless others the art of public speaking. He has also advised numerous lawyers, judges, public officials and political candidates.

Cirucci is a prolific writer and his op-ed pieces have appeared in the Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Courier-Post and other publications.

A native of Camden NJ, Cirucci is a former President of the Philadelphia chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. Cirucci served as Associate Executive Director of the Philadelphia Bar Association for nearly 30 years. He served as Chair of Penn State University's Professional Advisory Board for the Corporate Communication major at Penn State Abington and on the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Judicial Selection Commission.

He received his MA degree from Rowan University and his BA from Villanova University. He has been named a Distinguished Alumnus of Rowan's public relations program and received the E. A. "Wally" Richter Leadership Award, the highest honor from the National Association of Bar Executives' Communications Section. He has also been honored by numerous other local, state and national groups.

In his hometown of Camden, Cirucci taught fifth grade at the Ulysses Wiggins Elementary School named for the founder of the Camden NAACP. There he was one of the first teachers in the country to teach African-American history to inner city students. He later served as editor of a local weekly newspaper, as Assistant to the Township Manager of Cherry Hill Township and as Associate Director of Communications at the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Cirucci's passions include politics, the popular culture, books and authors, art, communication, music, theatre, movies, dining and travel.

Attributions & Terms Of Use

Unless explicitly attributed to others, the opinions and views expressed on this blog are my own, and do not represent the views of any employer or other organization.

By using this blog, you agree that all original content on this blog is copyright of Daniel A. Cirucci. You may quote from my posts provided that you clearly identify me as the author, link to the original post or home address of this blog, and do not charge for access to the website, publication or other media in which the quote appears.

I like to link to people who link to me.

Although comments are moderated, I accept no responsibility for what other people say, and I reserve the right to block or remove any comment for any reason or no reason.

Any e-mails sent to me are subject to publication, and any disputes regarding this site will be litigated exclusively in the jurisidiction in which I reside at the time of the dispute.

About Lijit Ads
We now have Lijit Ads on our web site. Please note that Lijit's Privacy Policy can be found here. Lijit collects only anonymous information unless a reader chooses to submit personal information to Lijit. Lijit permits readers to opt out of the collection of this anonymous site visit data by clicking here.