Lee Enterprises – now majority owned by Florida billionaire David Hoffmann – and USA Today Co have ended their joint venture over the Arizona Daily Star, with Lee now set to take over publications in South Dakota and Montana.
Hoffmann owns 52 per cent stake of Lee through a US$50 million (A$71.8 million) investment package, to which he personally committed US$35 million.
The deal ends the TNI Partners joint venture in which Lee ran the Daily Star’s newsroom, production and related technology, with USA Today managing advertising and sales, accounting and finance. With full ownership, USA Today is promising “a new chapter for local journalism and community engagement across Arizona” in which it already owns the Arizona Republic.
Lee Enterprises acquires publications including the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, the Aberdeen American News, the Watertown Public Opinion and the Great Falls Tribune. It already owns the Billings Gazette, Independent Record, Missoulian, the Montana Standard and Ravalli Republic in Montana, as well as the Rapid City Journal in South Dakota.
The transactions aim to allow each company to focus resources where they can have the greatest local impact, “enabling them to invest in growth, serve local audiences and support the future of community journalism”.
USA Today local news senior vice president Michael Anastasi welcomed the Arizona Daily Star team and said the “thoughtful transactions” reflected a strategic decision to best serve these communities and support the future of local journalism: “As leaders in the industry, we have a responsibility to ensure local news organisations are positioned for long-term success.”
Lee’s president and chief executive Nathan Bekke said his company was honoured to deepen their commitment to the communities of Montana and South Dakota: “Across the 193 brands we serve in 28 states, our focus is the same: providing trusted local news and information that helps people stay informed, connected and engaged in their communities.”
USA Today Co owns the national publication USA Today, a network of local properties in the US, and Newsquest in the UK.