Gannett reportedly holds merger talks with Gatehouse Media

USA Today owner Gannett Co. Inc. has recently discussed the possibility of a merger with Gatehouse Media Inc., The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

McLean, Va.-based Gannett, like other news publishers, has struggled with a fall in revenue and has invested millions to scale up its digital footprint.

The USA Today is the largest circulated daily newspaper in the United States, according to market research firm Cision Media Research in January.

Gannett recently fended off newspaper chain MNG Enterprises’s efforts to put its nominees on the Gannett board, months after it rejected MNG’s US$1.36-billion hostile takeover bid.

Better known as Digital First Media, Alden Global Capital LLC-backed MNG is one of the largest newspaper holding companies in the United States, and owns more than 200 publications.

Tribune Publishing Co. had also reportedly tried to restart merger talks with Gannett in January, according to a WSJ report, more than two years after the newspaper publisher rejected Gannett’s takeover offer.

Gannett declined to comment on the report, while Gatehouse Media did not respond to a request for comment.