As Gannett shares slump, the number of potential buyers for its newspapers is dwindling -- along with bidders for other troubled publishers, The New York Times says today. "The lack of interest reflects a sharp shift in the last year toward a more pessimistic long-term view of the industry," the story says.Advertising losses have accelerated, and few expect a rebound even when the economy recovers. "The story has changed fundamentally," Ken Doctor, a newspaper analyst with research firm Outsell, told the NYT. "A year ago, the conventional wisdom was, 'Yep, there are problems out there, but there’s still significant value.' Now, it's 'Run away.'"
Earlier: Why Gannett unloaded five newspapers last year
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[Image: Shares now down 63% from a year ago; bigger chart view]
Larry St. Cyr to the rescue!
ReplyDeleteThe high multiples that Gannett paid for properties a few years ago only exacerbates the problem that this company, and others like them find themselves in today (good thing for Gannett that Journal-Register “won” the Michigan cluster).
ReplyDeleteGannett paid much more than anyone else would pay for newspapers I was at a few years ago and has since trashed them so badly that even if new owners took over, they’d be hard-pressed to undo the damage that’s been done - a Gannett strength I’ve learned.
Given that, and what Gannett and others have done to their other properties to “make their numbers”, it’s really no surprise that buyers are remaining on the sidelines, at least for now.
Who is Larry St. Cyr anyway?
ReplyDeleteVP Finance Digital Division. WOrks for Jack Williams. Was VP Finance for Gannett Offset and VP Finance for the Piedmont Group and Nashville before that
ReplyDeleteBack to NJ again, there are rumblings that the Newark Star Ledger is in very big trouble and was wondering what the likelihood would be of Gannett buying it. To do so would eliminate most of the competition the Gannett NJ Newspaper Group continues to face.
ReplyDelete