Deals
Gannett Jumps on $1.5 Billion Deal to Acquire Belo
This article is for subscribers only.
Gannett Co., the publisher of USA Today, surged the most in more than four years after agreeing to buy Belo Corp. for about $1.5 billion, gaining TV stations to reduce its dependence on its shrinking newspaper business.
Gannett rose 34 percent to $26.60 at the close in New York, the biggest one-day gain since April 2009. The McLean, Virginia-based publisher will pay $13.75 per Belo share in cash and assume $715 million in debt, according to a statement today. The per-share price is 28 percent above Belo’s closing price yesterday, a premium that’s 14 percent higher than the average for similar deals, according to Bloomberg Industries analyst Paul Sweeney.