The US department of justice has approved New Times Media's purchase of Village Voice Media. The new company, to be called Village Voice Media, will publish free weekly papers in 17 of the largest US markets, the companies said Monday in a statement. The merger is expected to close in the first quarter of 2006.
In a routine notice on the website of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the merger was listed Wednesday, November 23, as among proposed deals that neither the FTC's bureau of competition nor the antitrust division of the department of justice would challenge, "based on paperwork filed by the two companies on October 24, when the merger was announced," the Seattle Weekly reported.
Village Voice Media is owned by investors represented by Goldman Sachs, Weiss, Peck & Greer, and Trimaran Capital Partners. CEO Schneiderman is a former Village Voice editor and publisher. Besides Seattle Weekly and the Village Voice, Village Voice Media owns LA Weekly in Los Angeles, OC Weekly in Orange County, California, City Pages in Minneapolis, and Nashville Scene. The Voice began publishing 50 years ago and is considered the pioneer of the so-called alternative-weekly format. Seattle Weekly was founded in 1976.
New Times, in business since 1970, is largely owned by CEO James Larkin and Executive Editor Michael Lacey. Fourteen percent of the chain is held by a Boston investment firm called Alta Communications. New Times owns Phoenix New Times, Westword in Denver, SF Weekly in San Francisco, East Bay Express in Oakland, Calif., the Dallas Observer, the Houston Press, Cleveland Scene, Miami New Times, New Times Broward-Palm Beach in Florida, Riverfront Times in St. Louis, and The Pitch in Kansas City.
Village Voice CEO David Schneiderman said in an email to the staff, "We expect to close in about a month or so. The work on integrating the two companies will accelerate, but we will still be functioning as separate entities until the closing."
Following the close of the merger, the new entity, to be called Village Voice Media, will have a weekly audited circulation of 1.8 million papers and 4.3 million readers. Village Voice Media will have papers and websites in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Denver, Houston, Dallas, Miami, Seattle, St Louis, Orange County, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Kansas City, Nashville, the East Bay including Oakland and Berkeley, and the Ft Lauderdale/West Palm Beach area.
The new company will retain the Village Voice Media name and be run by two top executives of New Times Media. New Times shareholders will own 62 per cent of the new company and Village Voice shareholders the remaining 38 per cent.
New Times CEO Jim Larkin will run the new company, while New Times executive editor Michael Lacey will be executive editor. Village Voice CEO David Schneiderman will be president of Village Voice Digital. Village Voice papers will join New Times' national advertising sales agency Ruxton Media Group. The company is expected to have a combined revenue of about $180 million.
As Donnell Alexander, a former LA Weekly staffer wrote on AlterNet shortly after the deal was announced, "At stake is the future of progressive journalism. The unofficial truth has seemingly been forever under attack by major multinationals and short attention spans. Its politics are heavier than big media allow, and its formal freedom queers pollsters and consultants. Like its nephew the Internet, the best of the nation's weeklies (The Stranger, Willamette Week, The Boston Phoenix) are charged ions. Now a group of libertarians disguised as Men Without Politics are preparing to set the tone."
