Lee Enterprises


Lee Enterprises is a publicly traded American media company. It publishes 75 daily newspapers in 26 states, and more than 350 weekly, classified, and specialty publications. Lee Enterprises was founded in 1890 by Alfred Wilson Lee and is based in Davenport, Iowa.
The company also provides online services, including websites supporting its daily newspapers and other publications. Lee had more than 25 million unique web and mobile visitors monthly, with 209.1 million pages viewed. Lee became majority partner of TownNews.com in 1996; Town News creates software for newspaper publication purposes. The company offers commercial printing services to its customers.
Lee Enterprises is currently the fourth largest newspaper group in the United States of America. The company acquired Howard Publications for $694 million in 2002 and Pulitzer, Inc., for $1.5 billion in 2005.
From January 2012 to April 2017, the company's executive chairman, Mary Junck, was chairman of the Associated Press. In December 2018, Lee Enterprises announced that Mary Junck would transition from Executive Chairman to Chairman of the company.
In January 2020 Lee Enterprises announced an agreement with Berkshire Hathaway to acquire BH Media Group's publications and The Buffalo News for $140 million in cash.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy, debt discharge and bailout reorganization (2011)

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2011. It emerged from bankruptcy less than two months later. In April 2012, Warren Buffett took a stake in Lee Enterprises, buying $85 million of the company's debt from Goldman Sachs Group.
In June 2012, Berkshire Hathaway filed an amended Form 13F for the period ending March 31, 2012. This document disclosed that Berkshire accumulated $2,119,000 or 1,655,125 common shares of Lee Enterprises, or a 3.2 percent stake. The document noted that the confidentiality of this transaction was requested but denied by the SEC on May 25, 2012.

Debt recapitalization (2013-14)

In April 2013, Lee Enterprises announced that Berkshire Hathaway refinanced the remaining Pulitzer acquisition debt equating to $94 million. Lee Enterprises incurred no cost for doing this. The collateral involved was the TNI Partner stake including the Arizona Daily Star and . The result of this was a reduction in interest from a variable rate of 11.3% to a fixed rate of 9% while at the same time extending the debt maturity date of the debt from December 2015 to April 2017. At the time of the announcement Lee Enterprises noted they had $893 million left to pay off. Lee paid off and retired its New Pulitzer notes in June 2015, 6 months before the original maturity date and 22 months before the new maturity date. Lee also refinanced its remaining debt in 2014 in order to extend the maturities from 2015 and 2017 to 2019 and 2022. Lee retired its 1st Lien Term Loan in November 2018, four months before its scheduled March 2019 maturity.
On June 27, 2018, Lee Enterprises and Berkshire Hathaway reached a five-year agreement to allow Lee Enterprises to manage Berkshire Hathaway's newspaper and digital operations.

BH Media Group acquisition and financing (2020)

Lee Enterprises announced an agreement to buy Berkshire Hathaway’s BH Media Group publications and The Buffalo News for $140 million cash on January 29, 2020. The acquisition comprises 30 daily newspapers in 10 states plus 49 paid weekly publications with digital sites, as well as 32 other additional print products. Daily papers include Omaha World-Herald in Nebraska, Tulsa World in Oklahoma, and Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina. Lee enters into a 10-year lease for BH Media’s real estate as part of the agreement.
To finance the acquisition, Berkshire Hathaway provided $576 million in long-term financing to Lee at 9% per annum. Lee Enterprises used those funds to pay for the Berkshire properties and refinance its roughly $400 million in existing debt. Much of this remains from the purchase of Pulitzer Inc. for $1.5 billion in 2005. Berkshire became Lee’s sole lender after the deal closed on March 16 2020.
“We had zero interest in selling the group to anyone else for one simple reason: We believe that Lee is best positioned to manage through the industry’s challenges,” Warren Buffett said in a statement.

Newspapers

Lee Enterprises owns 75 daily newspapers and approximately 350 specialty publications in 26 states. The company's portfolio grew substantially, nearly doubling its audience size, with the acquisition of BH Media Group's publications in early 2020, including the Omaha World-Herald, Richmond Times-Dispatch and Tulsa World.
In January 2020, Lee Enterprises sold newspaper and digital media operations in southern Oregon to Country Media, Inc. The sale included The World, the Bandon Western World and The Umpqua Post. Lee had purchased the papers as part of its acquisition of Pulitzer, Inc. in 2005.
In March 2020, Lee sold the Santa Maria Times, The Lompoc Record, The Hanford Sentinel and the Santa Ynez Valley News to Santa Maria News Media Inc., a newly formed company led by a group of Canadian newspaper executives.
Other publications Lee has formerly owned include the North County Times, The Garden Island, The Provo Daily Herald, Daily Chronicle, Rhinelander Daily News, Shawano Leader, and The Ledger Independent of Maysville, KY.

Daily newspapers

StateCityNewspaper
AlabamaDothanDothan Eagle
AlabamaOpelikaOpelika-Auburn News
ArizonaFlagstaffArizona Daily Sun
ArizonaTucsonArizona Daily Star
CaliforniaNapaNapa Valley Register
IdahoTwin FallsTimes-News
IllinoisBloomingtonThe Pantagraph
IllinoisCarbondaleThe Southern Illinoisan
IllinoisDecaturHerald & Review
IllinoisQuad CitiesThe Dispatch / The Rock Island Argus
IllinoisMattoon & CharlestonJournal Gazette & Times-Courier
IndianaMunster The Times of Northwest Indiana
IowaClarindaClarinda Herald-Journal
IowaCouncil BluffsThe Daily Nonpareil
IowaDavenportQuad-City Times
IowaDenisonDenison Bulletin-Review
IowaMason CityGlobe Gazette
IowaMuscatineMuscatine Journal
IowaOsageMitchell County Press-News
IowaShenandoahShenandoah Valley News
IowaSioux CitySioux City Journal
IowaWaterlooWaterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
IowaWoodbine/LoganTwiner-Herald
MissouriPark HillsDaily Journal
MissouriSt. LouisSt. Louis Post-Dispatch
MinnesotaWinonaWinona Daily News
MontanaBillingsBillings Gazette
MontanaButteThe Montana Standard
MontanaHamiltonRavalli Republic
MontanaHelenaIndependent Record
MontanaMissoulaMissoulian
NebraskaBeatriceBeatrice Daily Sun
NebraskaColumbusColumbus Telegram
NebraskaFremontFremont Tribune
NebraskaGrand IslandGrand Island Independent
NebraskaLincolnLincoln Journal Star
NebraskaKearneyKearney Hub
NebraskaLexingtonLexington Clipper-Herald
NebraskaNorth PlatteNorth Platte Telegraph
NebraskaOmahaOmaha World-Herald
NebraskaScottsbluffScottsbluff Star-Herald
NebraskaWahooWahoo Newspaper
NebraskaYorkYork News-Times
NevadaElkoElko Daily Free Press
New JerseyAtlantic CityPress of Atlantic City
New YorkAuburnThe Citizen
New YorkBuffaloThe Buffalo News
New YorkGlens FallsThe Post-Star
North CarolinaConcordIndependent Tribune
North CarolinaGreensboroNews & Record
North CarolinaHickoryHickory Daily Record
North CarolinaMarionThe McDowell News
North CarolinaMorgantonThe News Herald
North CarolinaMooresvilleMooresville Tribune
North CarolinaStatesvilleStatesville Record & Landmark
North CarolinaWinston-SalemWinston-Salem Journal
North DakotaBismarckThe Bismarck Tribune
OklahomaTulsaTulsa World
OregonAlbanyAlbany Democrat-Herald
OregonCorvallisCorvallis Gazette-Times
OregonLebanonLebanon Express
PennsylvaniaCarlisleThe Sentinel
South CarolinaFlorenceThe Morning News
South CarolinaOrangeburgThe Times and Democrat
South DakotaRapid CityRapid City Journal
TexasBryan-College StationThe Eagle
TexasWacoWaco Tribune-Herald
VirginiaBristolBristol Herald Courier
VirginiaCharlottesvilleThe Daily Progress
VirginiaCulpeperCulpeper Star-Exponent
VirginiaDanvilleDanville Register & Bee
VirginiaFredericksburgThe Free Lance–Star
VirginiaLynchburgNews & Advance
VirginiaMartinsvilleMartinsville Bulletin
VirginiaRichmondRichmond Times-Dispatch
VirginiaRoanokeRoanoke Times
VirginiaRocky MountFranklin News-Post
VirginiaWaynesboroThe News Virginian
WashingtonLongviewThe Daily News
WisconsinChippewa FallsThe Chippewa Herald
WisconsinKenoshaKenosha News
WisconsinLa CrosseLa Crosse Tribune
WisconsinMadisonWisconsin State Journal
WisconsinRacineRacine Journal Times
WyomingCasperCasper Star-Tribune

Television subsidiary sale (2000)

Lee formerly operated a broadcasting division, which it sold in 2000 to pay off debt and in order to focus on newspaper publishing. Most of the TV stations were sold to Emmis Communications, and have all been sold, as of 2007, to other companies.
City of license / MarketStationChannel
TV 		Years ownedCurrent ownership status
TucsonKGUN9 1986–2000ABC affiliate owned by the E. W. Scripps Company
HonoluluKGMB9 1977–2000CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television
Mason City - Rochester - AustinKGLO-TV **3 1954–1977CBS affiliate, KIMT, owned by Heartland Media
Topeka, KansasKSNT27 1995–2000NBC affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group
Wichita - Hutchinson, KansasKSNW3 1995–2000NBC affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group
Great BendKSNC
'		2 1995–2000NBC affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group
Garden City, KansasKSNG
'		11 1995–2000NBC affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group
McCook, NebraskaKSNK
'		8 1995–2000NBC affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group
Hannibal - Quincy - Keokuk - MacombKHQA-TV **7 1953–1986CBS affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
MankatoKEYC-TV **12 1960–1977CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television
Omaha - Council BluffsKMTV3 1986–2000CBS affiliate owned by the E. W. Scripps Company
Albuquerque - Santa FeKGGM-TV/KRQE13 1991–2000CBS affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group
PortlandKOIN 6 1977–2000CBS affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group
El Paso - Las Cruces - Ciudad JuárezKMAZ48 1993–1998Telemundo affiliate, KTDO, owned by NBCUniversal
Huntington - CharlestonWSAZ-TV3 1971–2000NBC''' affiliate owned by Gray Television

In addition, Lee also operated KASY-TV in Albuquerque which was owned by Ramar Communications. That station was a UPN affiliate. KASY was sold to WB affiliate KWBQ in 1999 when the LMA was terminated.