The deal nearly Doubles Lee’s size

The deal nearly doubles Lee's audience size. Davenport-based Lee is currently in 50 markets. Serving communities in 10 states, BHMG owns the print and digital operations of 30 daily papers, as well as more than 49 paid weekly publications with digital sites and 32 other print products.

The transaction also includes The Buffalo News, which is separately owned by Berkshire Hathaway.

BHMG’s real estate (including permanently attached equipment) and cash are excluded from the acquisition. “On the value of the sale, Buffett took a bath. But BH is retaining the property, which it will lease to Lee — keeping a solid source of income. Plus it could sell them later as real estate values appreciate,” wrote Rick Edmonds of Poynter.

“This is a compelling and transformative transaction for Lee,” said Mary Junck, Lee’s chairman. “It both refinances our long-term debt on attractive terms and provides new revenue opportunities as well as operational synergies across an expanded portfolio.”

In a 2019 interview with Yahoo Finance, Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO Buffett expressed doubt about the viability of papers outside of The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post. “They're going to disappear,” he said.

“We had zero interest in selling the group to anyone else for one simple reason: We believe that Lee is best positioned to manage through the industry’s challenges,” Buffett said in a statement on the sale.

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