McClatchy/MediaNews Deal Clears Court Hurdle

MCCLATCHY/MEDIANEWS DEAL CLEARS COURT HURDLE
[SOURCE: Associated Press 7/28]
A federal judge on Friday declined to block the proposed sale of three McClatchy Co. newspapers to rival MediaNews Group Inc. amid allegations the $1 billion deal would give the Denver-based chain a monopoly in the San Francisco-area newspaper market. The antitrust lawsuit brought by San Francisco real estate magnate Clint Reilly was a bid to temporarily block the transaction that also includes financing from the Hearst Corp., which owns the San Francisco Chronicle and would be the biggest competitor to MediaNews in the Bay Area. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston's decision doesn't mean the deal will go through. Regulators in the Justice Department have not signed off on the deal and he government has not indicated when it would conclude its own antitrust investigation. MediaNews' lawyers told Illston that the deal needs to get closed within days as financing agreements begin expiring.
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