GateHouse I.P.O. Up Despite Newspaper Gloom; New Media Hires

GateHouse Media, the niche market newspaper publisher, has defied the general gloom surrounding the newspaper industry: Its shares were up as much as 20 percent Wednesday following its IPO…also, it priced at the top of its forecast range of $16 to $18 per share, and GateHouse increased the number of shares it sold from 11.5 million to 13.8 million. The offering raised about $248 million.
GateHouse was formed last year when a private equity firm, the Fortress Investment Group bought Liberty Publishing Group in a deal valued at $527 million…the company owns 75 dailies, more than 200 weeklies and more than 100 advertising shoppers.
In related news, the company has strengthened its online team and has hired Melinda Gipson from The Newspaper Association of America’s New Media Federation….she will join others who joined the online team recently: Howard Owens, former online leader at The Ventura County Star and The Bakersfield Californian. Heading the online operation is Bill Blevins, who previously ran online operations for CNHI, a counterpart to Gateway that is largely based in the Southeast.

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