The Pensacola News Journal’s owner, Gannett, will write down its assets by about $2.5 billion to $3 billion this quarter to reflect the declining value of its operations. The company’s CFO says much of the writedown reflects a declining value in Gannett’s United Kingdom operation, Newsquest PLC.
Gannett blogger, Jim Hopkins, reports:
No big deal here, boys and girls. Just an “accounting event” that will cost the company up to $3 billion in the value of its newspapers and other businesses, according to the memo CEO Craig Dubow sent to employees today.
But as non-events go, this beauty nonetheless required Dubow (left) to reassure employees that Gannett remains “healthy.” (Now, there’s a word the attorneys and other regulatory compliance experts spent a lot of time debating.) What’s more, Dubow further felt the need to reassure everyone that GCI can still “pay our dividends and our debts.” So, comforting!