New Media Investment Group buys Halifax Media Group for $280 million
Florida-based Halifax Media Group was purchased Thursday by New York-based New Media Investment Group for $280 million.
Halifax publishes 36 newspapers, including 24 dailies primarily in the Southeast. Combined, the newspapers have total daily circulation of approximately 635,000 and 752,000 on Sundays.
Halifax is backed by Stephens Capital Partners, whose CEO is Arkansas billionaire Warren Stephens. The Stephens family also owns Stephens Media, which publishes 11 daily newspapers, including the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and 64 weeklies.
Stephens Media is a separate entity from Halifax.
New Media is one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media in the U.S with 450 community publications and more than 370 related web sites.
New Media has been actively acquiring newspapers, having spent approximately $430 million on local media assets in the past year, including the Halifax deal.
Last year, New Media added the Dow Jones Local Media Group of eight dailies and 15 weeklies to its lineup and acquired the Providence Journal earlier this year.
Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871. Find him on Twitter: @howardstutz
