Adds more than $320 million of annual digital revenue
Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) and ReachLocal, Inc. (NASDAQ:
RLOC) announced today the execution of a definitive merger
agreement whereby Gannett would acquire the outstanding shares of
ReachLocal, Inc., for $4.60 per share in cash, via a tender offer.
This represents a 188% premium to the unaffected closing price on
Friday, June 24, 2016, and a total enterprise value of
approximately $156 million. The transaction has been unanimously
approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies and is
expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2016. Gannett
expects this transaction to be approximately neutral to earnings
per share in its first full year and modestly accretive in its
second full year.
Robert Dickey, Gannett president and chief executive officer
said, “The acquisition of ReachLocal accelerates Gannett’s digital
growth strategy, adding more than $320 million of annual digital
revenue, the best digital marketing solutions technology in the
market, and an outstanding and well-respected management team to
Gannett’s digital business. ReachLocal’s focus on local small and
medium sized businesses aligns well with Gannett’s
local-to-national strategy and extends our reach into new local
markets. This transaction represents an important step as we
continue to transform our business to meet the changing needs of
consumers and advertisers in today’s digital world. We are excited
to welcome the talented ReachLocal team to Gannett and look forward
to working with them to drive digital growth and create value for
our stockholders.”
Initially, ReachLocal will expand Gannett’s digital revenue by
roughly 50% with its more than 16,000 customers in markets
throughout North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia/Pacific.
At the conclusion of Gannett’s current digital services arrangement
in its existing markets in mid-2017, the combined organization will
benefit from leveraging ReachLocal’s best-in-class digital
marketing services products in Gannett’s existing 107 local markets
in the U.S. ReachLocal brings a diversified client base with home
services, healthcare, automotive and professional services
representing its largest vertical markets.
Sharon Rowlands, ReachLocal chief executive officer said, “We
are excited to bring new market opportunities and scale to
Gannett’s growing and important digital business. We believe that
this powerful combination will drive growth and allow us to
accelerate innovation, enabling the best and most complete digital
marketing solutions in the market today.”
Under the terms of the agreement, a subsidiary of Gannett will
commence a tender offer for all outstanding shares of ReachLocal
for $4.60 per share in cash, which will remain open for at least 20
business days. The transaction is subject to customary closing
conditions, including the expiration of the waiting period under
the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as
amended, and there being validly tendered and not withdrawn in the
tender offer a majority of the outstanding ReachLocal shares.
Shortly following the closing of the tender offer, in a second-step
merger that will not require stockholder approval, Gannett will
acquire all remaining ReachLocal shares.
The Raine Group LLC is serving as financial advisor and Skadden,
Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is serving as legal counsel to
Gannett. Greenhill & Co., LLC is serving as independent
financial advisor to Gannett’s board of directors. Citi is serving
as exclusive financial advisor and Latham & Watkins LLP is
serving as legal counsel to ReachLocal.
About Gannett
Gannett Co., Inc. is a next-generation media company
committed to strengthening communities across our network. Through
trusted, compelling content and unmatched local-to-national reach,
Gannett touches the lives of more than 100 million people monthly.
With more than 120 markets internationally, it is known for
Pulitzer Prize-winning newsrooms, powerhouse brands such as USA
TODAY and specialized media properties. To connect with us, visit
www.gannett.com.
About ReachLocal
ReachLocal, Inc. is an exceptional, innovative global
company. It is headquartered in Woodland Hills, Calif., and
operates in four regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, and
Asia-Pacific. The company is the premiere provider of digital
services for small and medium sized businesses in the markets it
serves. Products include a full suite of digital services related
to web presence, search, lead generation and advertising. Among the
many ways ReachLocal helps clients is by creating a complete web
presence, providing digital advertising solutions that optimize
campaigns, and, through its ReachEdge™ lead conversion software,
enabling clients to build leads and convert them into customers
while tracking what marketing sources work best. For the past two
years the company has earned Confirmit ACE Awards related to its
Voice of the Customer Program and recently won a Bronze in the
2016 American Business Awards competition for its ReachDisplay
InApp™ solution, which delivers location-based dynamic
advertisements to consumer smartphones. In addition, ReachLocal was
awarded the prestigious 2015 Google Quality Award in North America
and several other markets it serves.
Additional Information
This release does not constitute an offer to buy or a
solicitation of an offer to sell any securities. Gannett has not
yet commenced the tender offer for the shares of ReachLocal at this
time. Upon commencement of the tender offer, Gannett will file with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a tender
offer statement on Schedule TO and related exhibits (including the
offer to purchase, the letter of transmittal and other related
documents), and ReachLocal will file with the SEC a
solicitation/recommendation statement on Schedule 14D-9 with
respect to the tender offer. Any definitive tender offer documents
will be mailed to the shareholders of ReachLocal. INVESTORS AND
SECURITY HOLDERS OF REACHLOCAL ARE STRONGLY URGED TO READ THESE AND
OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN
THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT
INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. Once filed,
investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies
of these documents and other documents filed with the SEC by
Gannett through the website maintained by the SEC at
http://www.sec.gov, and from the information agent named in the
tender offer materials.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this release may be forward looking in
nature or constitute “forward-looking statements” as defined in the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including
statements regarding the proposed acquisition of ReachLocal, the
expected timetable for completing the acquisition and the benefits
of the acquisition. Forward-looking statements include all
statements that are not historical facts and can typically be
identified by words such as “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,”
“predict,” “target,” “potential,” “likely,” “continue,” “ongoing,”
“could,” “should,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “seek,”
“anticipate,” “project” and similar expressions, as well as
variations or negatives of these words. Any such statements speak
only as of the date the statements were made and are not guarantees
of future performance. The matters discussed in these
forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks,
trends, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual
results and developments to differ materially from those projected,
anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. These
factors include, among other things, economic conditions affecting
the newspaper publishing business, the uncertainty of regulatory
approvals, Gannett’s and ReachLocal’s ability to satisfy the merger
agreement conditions and consummate the transaction on a timely
basis, and Gannett’s ability to successfully integrate ReachLocal’s
operations and employees with Gannett’s existing business. In
addition, actual results are subject to other risks and
uncertainties that relate more broadly to Gannett and ReachLocal’s
overall business, including those more fully described in Gannett’s
filings with the SEC, including its annual report on Form 10-K for
the fiscal year ended December 27, 2015, and its quarterly report
filed on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 27, 2016, and those
more fully described in ReachLocal’s filings with the SEC,
including its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2015 and its quarterly report filed on Form 10-Q for
the quarter ended March 31, 2016.
You should not unduly rely on forward-looking statements because
actual results could differ materially from those expressed in any
forward-looking statements. In addition, any forward-looking
statement applies only as of the date on which it is made. We do
not plan to, and undertake no obligation to, update any
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that
occur after the date on which such statements are made or to
reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160627006326/en/
Investor Contact for Gannett:Michael DickersonVice
President, Investor Relations & Real
Estate703-854-6185mdickerson@gannett.comorMedia Contact for
Gannett:Amber AllmanVice President, Corporate Events &
Communications703-854-5358aallman@gannett.comorInvestor Contact
for ReachLocal:The Blueshirt GroupAlex Wellins,
415-217-5861alex@blueshirtgroup.comorMedia Contact for
ReachLocal:The Blueshirt GroupJeff Fox,
415-828-8298jeff@blueshirtgroup.com
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