Apollo Global Management LLC is “in advanced talks” to purchase most of Digital First Media’s assets for $400 million, Greg Roumeliotis and Liana Baker report for Reuters:
The potential deal illustrates private equity’s interest in the newspaper industry. Even though newspaper readership is declining, buyout firms say they believe they can squeeze out a profit through cost cuts and new digital offerings.
In September, Digital First Media announced that it was retaining UBS Securities LLC to determine “strategic alternatives for the Company’s business,” which include the possibility of a sale.
Nieman Lab reported in April that Digital First Media was planning a sale of its newspapers following the implosion of Project Thunderdome, a New York-based initiative that aimed to centralize DFM’s national news production.
