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Journal Register To Buy Michigan Newspaper Group

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Journal Register

To Buy Michigan Newspaper Group

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Journal Register Co., which owns 23 daily newspapers including the New Haven Register in Connecticut, is buying 21st Century Newspapers Inc, the privately held owner of four daily newspapers in Michigan, for $415 million in cash.

Journal Register said Tuesday the deal will make Michigan home to its second largest newspaper group, following its holdings in the greater Philadelphia area. The deal also includes 87 nondaily publications.

The daily newspapers being acquired include The Daily Oakland Press and The Macomb Daily (Mount Clemens) and the four of them have a combined daily circulation of about 137,500 and a Sunday circulation of 176,000.

The other two dailies included in the sale are The Daily Tribune in Royal Oak and the Morning Sun in Mount Pleasant.

“Acquiring these award-winning suburban newspapers extends our footprint into some of Michigan’s most affluent and fastest-growing markets,” said Robert M. Jelenic, chairman, president and CEO of Journal Register.

The nondaily publications, also all located in Michigan, include shoppers, weeklies, and real estate magazines.

The deal, which is subject to governmental approval, is expected to close in the third quarter.

Frank H. Shepherd, the chairman and CEO of 21st Century Newspapers, will stay with the company during a transition period and then serve as a consultant for five years.

He said he was pleased his employees will be part of a public company.

Mr Shepherd, who has a long career in the publishing industry, joined with Kelso & Co. and Goldman Sachs to form 21st Century Newspapers. They bought their first newspapers in 1997. They later expanded with acquisitions including Heritage Newspaper Group and Morning Star Publishing Group.

The company’s primary audience is in southeastern Michigan communities that include wealthy or expanding Detroit suburbs.

The deal brings to 27 the number of daily newspapers and to 327 the number of nondaily publications owned by Journal Register, which is based in Trenton.

Journal Register stock was up 12 cents at $20.16 per share in afternoon trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

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