The South Bend Tribune, owned and operated by the same family-owned company for nearly 150 years, is being sold to one of the largest publishers in the United States, in a deal that is slated to officially close on Friday.
Schurz Communications, a privately held communications company formed in 1872, announced today its intention to sell its publishing division, including the South Bend Tribune, to GateHouse Media, LLC, and will continue investing in the areas of cloud and managed IT services and broadband operations.
GateHouse Media, one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media in the United States, is expected to assume ownership during the first quarter of 20 regional papers and several special publications in Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania and South Dakota.
Todd Schurz is President & CEO at Schurz Communications, based in South Bend. He says, “Our leadership team, Board of Directors and ownership group are dedicated to helping the company stay true to its roots of fostering communication and connections while charting a successful course for the future.” He adds, “This is a natural next step forward in our evolution as a company given our mission to help solve challenges by linking people, businesses and communities. We will continue to explore the types of investments that support our commitment to technology and anticipate adding new employees to our team and new companies to our portfolio in the near future.”
Schurz Communications’ technology focus began with the purchase of four broadband companies, and the company is currently poised to complete the purchase of a fifth. In February 2018, Schurz Communications subsequently announced that it had acquired leading compliant hybrid cloud provider, Online Tech, LLC. An additional investment in the cloud infrastructure assets of Neverfail was announced in December 2018 and highlighted the company’s interest in expanding Online Tech’s presence on a global scale.
Terms of the sale have not yet been announced. The first ever edition of the South Bend Tribune was published on March 9th of 1872. In addition to the Tribune, Schurz also owns The Petoskey News-Review, the Herald-Times in Bloomington, Indiana and 17 other smaller papers.
The paper will still be based locally according to Tribune Publisher Sally Brown. It will still be assembled by local news and advertising staffs and Brown says, “We are still committed to our focus on strong local news coverage and to serving our advertisers.”
The Tribune itself called the sale, “Another large step away from traditional media for Schurz Communications, which sold all of its TV and radio stations in 2015.” St. Joseph-based Mid-West Family Broadcasting purchased several of those radio stations at that time.
Moorgate Securities, LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to Schurz Communications in connection with the transaction revealed today.
Schurz Communications Inc. is a family owned corporation that has been helping businesses, communities and individuals make meaningful connections for five generations. The Schurz legacy began in newspaper publishing and today, the company remains committed to making information more accessible through the platforms and technology of the digital age.
Schurz Communications’ recent investments include regional broadband companies, global data center solutions providers and digital media and marketing firms. The company’s portfolio also includes a variety of minority investments. For more information, you can visit online at www.schurz.com.
GateHouse Media, headquartered in Pittsford, New York, is a wholly owned subsidiary of New Media Investment Group Inc., which is focused primarily on investing in a high quality, diversified portfolio of local media assets and on growing existing advertising and digital marketing and business services.
GateHouse Media is one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media in the United States, as measured by its 145 daily publications. As of September 30, 2018, the company operates in over 555 markets across 37 states, reaching over 23 million people on a weekly basis and serves over 221,000 business customers.
