Gannett Completes Acquisition of Newscom

Business Wire, June 5, 2000

Business Editors

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 5, 2000

Gannett Co., Inc. today announced that the offer to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of News Communications & Media PLC ("Newscom") by Gannett U.K. Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary, has been declared unconditional in all respects.

Gannett had received as of 3:00 p.m. on June 2, 2000, the first closing date of the offer, acceptances under the offer, and/or had acquired or agreed to acquire, a total of 21,168,974 Newscom shares, representing approximately 85.8% of the issued share capital of Newscom.

Newscom is the eighth largest regional newspaper publisher in the U.K. It publishes 99 titles including 4 daily newspapers, with the remainder a mix of paid and free weeklies and niche publications. Newscom also owns a printing company, Southernprint, as well as an interest in magazine publishing together with leaflet distribution and electronic publishing.

Gannett Co., Inc. is an international news and information company that publishes 74 daily newspapers in the USA, including USA TODAY, the nation's largest-selling daily newspaper. The company also owns a variety of non-daily publications and USA WEEKEND, a weekly newspaper magazine. Newsquest plc, a wholly owned Gannett subsidiary acquired in mid-1999, is one of the largest regional newspaper publishers in England with a portfolio of more than 180 titles. Its publications include 11 daily newspapers with a combined circulation of approximately 450,000. Newsquest also publishes a variety of non-daily publications, including Berrow's Worcester Journal, the oldest continuously published newspaper in the world. Gannett also operates 22 television stations and is an Internet leader with sites sponsored by most of its TV stations and newspapers including USATODAY.com, one of the most popular news sites on the Web.