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.

Forum CEO Confirms Bid For Knight Ridder Orphans

E & P Staff

March 30, 2006

CHICAGO - Forum Communications President and CEO William Marcil confirmed Thursday what industry observers figured from the start: The parent company of the Fargo (N.D.) Forum is bidding for the three Knight Ridder dailies in its neck of the woods.

In a Sacramento Bee story by Dale Kasler, Marcil is quoted as saying, "We've let it be known that we are interested."

Forum is eyeing the three smallest of the 12 newspapers that The McClatchy Co. has put up for sale as it closes on its $6 billion deal to acquire Knight Ridder Inc. They are the Aberdeen (S.D.) American News, the Duluth (Minn.) News Tribune, and Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald.

As recently as Wednesday, Forum CFO John Hajostek told E&P that the company wasn't commenting. But observers said the three properties are a natural for the growing chain.

"They've been growing very steady, every year they pick up at least one daily or weekly," said John Cribb, principal of the Bozeman, Mont.-based newspaper brokerage firm, Cribb & Associates.

The Marcil family-owned Forum publishes four dailies in the Dakotas, and has moved aggressively into Minnesota, where it publishes four dailies. It owns about 20 weeklies, plus commercial printing operations, and television and radio stations.

***

Also Thursday, the San Jose Mercury News, in a story by Pete Carey, reported what it said was confirmation of another bid considered a natural by industry observers. Citing "sources close to the sales process," the newspaper reported W. Dean Singleton's MediaNews Group Inc. has submitted bids for three California papers: the Mercury News, the Contra Costa Times, and the Herald of Monterey County. MediaNews publishes several papers, including the Oakland Tribune, in northern California.

The Mercury News said MediaNews had also bid for The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.

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