M&A Deal Summary

Civitas Media Acquires Freedom Central

On September 11, 2012, Civitas Media acquired publishing company Freedom Central from Versa Capital Management

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Civitas Media’s 4th transaction in the Publishing sector.
  • This is Civitas Media’s 4th transaction in the United States.
  • This is Civitas Media’s 1st transaction in Illinois.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2012-09-11
Target Freedom Central
Sector Publishing
Buyer(s) Civitas Media
Sellers(s) Versa Capital Management
Deal Type Add-on Acquisition

Target

Freedom Central

Illinois, United States
Freedom Central is a provider of daily newspapers.

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Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

Civitas Media

Davidson, North Carolina, United States
Category Company
Sector Publishing
DESCRIPTION

Civitas Media is a publisher of community newspapers in 12 Midwestern, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern states. The company includes the following media groups: Freedom Central, four daily newspapers in Illinois, Ohio and Missouri; Heartland Publications, 17 daily and 29 weekly papers across Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia; Ohio Community Media, with 13 daily and 30 weekly publications across the state of Ohio; and Impressions Media, which operates the Wilkes Barre Times Leader and other local publications in the northeastern Pennsylvania area. Civitas Media is based in Davidson, North Carolina.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 4 of 4
Sector (Publishing) 4 of 4
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 4 of 4
State (Illinois) 1 of 1
Country (United States) 4 of 4
Year (2012) 4 of 4
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2012-09-11 Impressions Media

Pennsylvania, United States

Impressions Media is a provider of community papers, associated websites and digital media businesses.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2017-09-11 Middlesboro Daily News

Middlesboro, Kentucky, United States

The Middlesboro Daily News was first printed in 1911. The newspaper is published five times a week, Tuesday through Saturday, except on major holidays. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. The city of Middlesboro sits just inside the Cumberland Gap, along U.S. 25E, and is believed to have been built inside a meteorite crater.

Sell -

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

Versa Capital Management

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Distressed Investor
Founded 2004
PE ASSETS 1.4B USD
Size Large
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Versa Capital Management is a private equity firm focused on investing in complex or distressed situations. Versa will consider businesses headquartered in North America and valued between $100 million and $1 billion. Prospective investment situations include buyouts, divestitures, recapitalizations, restructurings/turnarounds, take privates, rescue financings, and liquidations. Versa Capital Management is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 6 of 25
Sector (Publishing) 4 of 4
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 5 of 8
State (Illinois) 2 of 3
Country (United States) 6 of 24
Year (2012) 4 of 5
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2012-09-11 Impressions Media

Pennsylvania, United States

Impressions Media is a provider of community papers, associated websites and digital media businesses.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2012-10-02 Central Parking

Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Central Parking Corp. is a provider of parking services. Central Parking owns, operates and manages multi-level parking facilities and surface lots, and provides parking-related services, including valet, parking meter collection and enforcements, shuttle bus operations, billing services and parking consulting.

Sell -
Mergr

Product

Company

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