Village Voice Sold

Posted on January 5, 2000

Stern Publishing, an alternative newspaper publisher, will be acquired by a management group led by David Schneiderman, the current President of Stern, affiliates of Weiss, Peck & Greer, L.L.C., a New York-based investment management firm, Trimaran Fund II, L.L.C., a private equity fund associated with CIBC, and other financial investors.

The new company will be named Village Voice Media. Mr. Schneiderman, who will be an investor in the new company, will assume the title of Chief Executive Officer. The new company will initially consist of eight free weekly alternative newspapers, including New York City's Village Voice, Los Angeles' LA Weekly, the Seattle Weekly, Minneapolis / St. Paul's City Pages, Orange County (CA) Weekly, Cleveland Free Times and the Long Island Voice. Also included in the new group, will be The Nashville Scene, which was recently acquired by affiliates of Weiss, Peck & Greer. The new company will have annualized revenues of approximately $90 million, with a combined circulation of 900,000. Closing is expected in February.

Joining the Village Voice Media management team will be Arthur Howe, formerly President of Montgomery Newspapers, a chain of suburban Philadelphia newspapers and owner of the alternative paper, Philadelphia City Paper. Mr. Howe will serve as President of Village Voice Media. Albie Del Favero, Publisher of the Nashville Scene, will be Executive Vice President overseeing the southern region. Both Mr. Howe and Mr. Del Favero, along with Bruce Dobie, editor of the Scene, are investors in Village Voice Media. Michael Sigman, presently President and CEO of LA Weekly and OC Weekly, will also be Executive Vice President of Village Voice Media. Nicholas DiCarlo will serve as Chief Financial Officer of the company.

David Schneiderman said, "This is a wonderful outcome for all the newspapers in our family. Our immediate goal is to maintain and even enhance the editorial quality of our newspapers. Our larger goals are to increase the pace of acquisition of alternative newspapers around the country, utilize the power of these brands in their local markets, to grow a substantial Internet presence and exploit opportunities in the radio market through cross-ownership and cross-promotion."