SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 28 LAWFUEL – Law News Network — A U.S. District
Court judge in San Francisco today denied a request for a temporary
restraining order (TRO) to block The McClatchy Company’s proposed sale of
the San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times to MediaNews Group, Inc.
(MediaNews) and the Monterey (CA) Herald and the St. Paul Pioneer Press to The Hearst Corporation (Hearst). The TRO had been requested by the
plaintiff to delay the closure of the sale in connection with a lawsuit
filed against MediaNews, Hearst, Stephens Group Inc., Gannett Co. Inc. and California Newspapers Partnership.
On April 26, 2006, McClatchy announced a definitive agreement with
MediaNews and Hearst under which the companies will pay McClatchy $1.0
billion to acquire the four newspapers. On June 13, 2006, as announced
previously, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) notified McClatchy of a
request for additional information concerning the sale of the San Jose
Mercury News and Contra Costa Times in California to MediaNews. McClatchy
has responded promptly to the DOJ’s request for additional information and is continuing to actively assist the DOJ with its inquiry.
About McClatchy
The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI) is the second-largest newspaper
company in the United States, with 32 daily newspapers and approximately 50
non-dailies. McClatchy-owned newspapers include the (Minneapolis) Star
Tribune, the Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee, the Fort Worth Star-
Telegram, the Kansas City Star, the Charlotte Observer, and The (Raleigh)
News & Observer. In addition, McClatchy has a robust network of valuable
internet assets, including leading local websites in each of its daily
newspaper markets, offering readers information, comprehensive news,
advertising, e-commerce and other services. The company also owns and
operates McClatchy Interactive, an interactive operation that provides
websites with content, publishing tools and software development; Real
Cities (http://www.RealCities.com ), the largest national network of city
and regional web sites, operating in more than 110 U.S. markets, and is
part owner of CareerBuilder, the nation’s largest online classified
employment listing service. McClatchy also owns 25 percent of Classified
Ventures, a newspaper industry partnership that includes such online
classified web sites as cars.com and apartments.com.
SAFE HARBOR FOR FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Statements in this press release regarding the transactions between
McClatchy, MediaNews and Hearst, the expected timetable for completing the
transactions, future financial and operating results, benefits and
synergies of the transactions, future opportunities for the company and any
other statements about management’s future expectations, beliefs, goals,
plans or prospects constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements
that are not statements of historical fact (including statements containing
the words “believes,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “expects,” estimates and
similar expressions) should also be considered to be forward-looking
statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual
results or events to differ materially from those indicated by such
forward-looking statements, including: the ability to consummate the
remaining transactions, the ability of McClatchy to successfully integrate
Knight Ridder’s operations and employees; the ability to realize
anticipated synergies and cost savings; and the other factors described in
McClatchy’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 25, 2005
and the final Prospectus/Proxy Statement/Information Statement contained in
McClatchy’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 (Registration No.
333-133321). McClatchy disclaims any intention or obligation to update any
forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the
date of this document.
