Reuters is reporting. Apollo has been competing with Cerberus Capital Management LP in the auction for the Digital First properties.
Regardless of which company walks away with Digital First -- and the Reuters report says that nothing is final, and that none of the principals are talking -- one thing seems certain: more change.
Even though newspaper readership is declining, buyout firms say they believe they can squeeze out a profit through cost cuts and new digital offerings.
Digital First Media owns 76 newspapers across the nation including the Post, The Boulder Daily Camera, The Longmont Times-Call, The St. Paul Pioneer Press and the San Jose Mercury News. When it announced the sale last September, editor Larry Rickman posted this on Twitter:
For sale: Shiny, new newsroom. Low miles. Move-in condition. Still has that new newsroom smell. http://t.co/FZvkKWuwmr
Digital First formed in December 2013 after the merger of Media News Group and the former Journal Register Company. It's now controlled by the hedge fund Alden Global Capital.
