Industry News

Distinctly Montana Magazine

Distinctly Montana Magazine has been sold by founder Michael Blevins to Bill Muhlenfeld and Anthea George of Bozeman, Montana, according to John Cribb, Cribb, Greene & Associates, who represented the seller in the transaction.

Distinctly Montana Magazine is a high quality glossy product published quarterly and distributed throughout Montana and most of the nation. The magazine, founded in 2001, is a resource guide for all things Montana and includes local features, literary pieces, and high quality art and photography. Included in the sale is the magazine website at distinctlymontana.com.

According to Anthea George, "Distinctly Montana is a quality publication with a great concept and a focused mission. We look forward as new owners to bringing the best of Montana to residents and visitors alike."

Cribb, Greene & Associates is an eighty-seven year old publishing company merger and acquisition firm with offices in Bozeman, Montana and Charlottesville, Virginia.

McClatchy Completes Knight Ridder Purchase - Update

RTTNews, RealTimeTraders, Inc.

June 28, 2006

The McClatchy Co. said Tuesday that it has completed its acquisition of Knight-Ridder, Inc. following yesterday's approval of the deal by Knight Ridder's shareholders. The deal had previously received all regulatory approvals.

As a result of the closing of the deal, Knight Ridder's stock will no longer be traded. Under the terms of the deal, which was announced in March, shares of Knight Ridder common stock were converted into the right to receive $40.00 in cash and a fixed fraction of .5118 of a Class A McClatchy share. McClatchy will issue about 34.9 million new Class A shares to previous Knight Ridder shareholders.

Sacramento, California-based McClatchy also said Tuesday that it completed the previously announced sales of four Knight Ridder newspapers: the Duluth News Tribune in Minnesota; the Grand Forks Herald in North Dakota; the Aberdeen American News in South Dakota; and the Ft. Wayne News-Sentinel in Indiana and a 75 percent interest in the Fort Wayne Joint Operating Agency.

Along with the proceeds of these sales, McClatchy said, it borrowed $3.076 billion under a new bank credit facility to pay the cash portion of the purchase price to Knight Ridder shareholders and expenses related to the deal.

In all, McClatchy has reached deals to sell 12 of Knight Ridder's 32 papers because they do not fit with the company's longstanding operating strategies. McClatchy stands to receive about $2.1 billion from buyers of the 12 papers. Proceeds from the divestitures, which were in line with McClatchy's expectations, will be used to pay down debt from the Knight Ridder acquisition.

Before this deal, McClatchy already owned 12 newspapers and with the 20 Knight Ridder papers that it has decided to retain, it will become the second largest newspaper publisher in the U.S. having 32 daily newspapers with a combined circulation of 3.3 million.

McClatchy shares closed Tuesday's regular trading session at $29.03, down $1.42 or 3.51% but gained 12 cents in after hours trading. Knight-Ridder shares closed Tuesday's regular trading session at $60.00, down 62 cents or 1.02%.

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