GateHouse Media has acquired the Austin American-Statesman from Cox Enterprises for $47.5 million. The deal is expected to close April 2. GateHouse Media says it is the U.S.’s largest owner of daily newspapers across the country, with 130 daily newspapers and more than 540 local market websites. The company is based in upstate New York. The Statesman, with its daily circulation of 85,000 and digital subscriptions of 16,786, will be one of GateHouse’s largest newspapers.
Cox Enterprises, which has owned the Statesman for over 40 years, put the newspaper up for sale last October, along with The Palm Beach Post and Palm Beach Daily News. GateHouse recently purchased the Register-Guard in Eugene, Oregon, and acquired Morris Publishing Group for $120 million last year.