McClatchy ordered to divest Pioneer Press

MCCLATCHY ORDERED TO DIVEST PIONEER PRESS
[SOURCE: MarketWatch, AUTHOR: David B. Wilkerson]
McClatchy Co., all set to close its $6.5 billion acquisition of Knight Ridder, has been ordered by the U.S. Department of Justice to sell the Knight-Ridder-owned St. Paul Pioneer Press before it can complete the deal. McClatchy also owns the neighboring Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The company has already announced that it intends to sell the St. Paul Pioneer Press to Hearst Corp. The DOJ said that without the divestiture of Pioneer Press, competition between it and the Star-Tribune would be eliminated, "and likely would have resulted in higher prices for advertisers and readers in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area." According to Justice's complaint, competition has led to "better quality news coverage for readers and lower advertising rates and better service for local advertisers."
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