The nation's No. 1 newspaper publisher looks ripe for a balance-sheet "hit,'' Bloomberg News columnist Jonathan Weil says today in a column about the disconnect between market values and book values of newspaper publishers. Gannett's market value is $7.9 billion, Weil notes. "By comparison," he says, "its $8.98 billion book value at Sept. 30 included $10.06 billion of goodwill and $818 million of other intangibles.''Company spokeswoman Tara Connell tells Weil that Gannett is evaluating the issue. A big writedown is the sort of thing the company might announce at its newly scheduled fourth-quarter earnings conference call, on Feb. 1.
[Image: this morning's Arizona Republic, from the Newseum. It was one of a slew of newspapers Gannett bought during a buying spree in 2000. Weil's column suggests some of these papers may no longer be worth what GCI paid. Hat tip, Romenesko]
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