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ImpreMedia Enters Florida Market with Purchase of La Prensa, Central
Florida's Leading Spanish Language Newspaper
- Acquisition made with proceeds of an $82.5 million credit facility
with Goldman Sachs Specialty Lending Group, L.P.
- Largest U.S. publisher of Spanish language newspapers has presence in
four top Hispanic states: California, New York, Illinois and now Florida
- Publishes seven newspapers in six U.S. markets which are together home
to more than 16 million Hispanics - more than 37% of the total U.S.
Hispanic population.
- This is the fifth company acquired by ImpreMedia, following only one
month after its acquisition of El Mensajero in the San Francisco Bay area,
bringing the company's weekly distribution to more than 1.9 million.
- Population of Hispanic communities of Central Florida passes 847,000
outpacing statewide growth rates, with estimates of Hispanic purchasing
power in Central Florida now placed at $13 billion and growing.
New York, N.Y. (January 31, 2006) - ImpreMedia, LLC, the nation's leading
publisher of Spanish language newspapers, announced today the acquisition of La
Prensa, Central Florida's leading Spanish language newspaper. The acquisition
was made with proceeds of an $82.5 million credit facility with Goldman Sachs
Specialty Lending Group, L.P. This is the fifth company acquired by ImpreMedia,
following only one month after its acquisition of El Mensajero in the San
Francisco Bay area.
Unmatched U.S. advertising footprint. "We are pleased to add La Prensa to our
company," stated John Paton, Chairman and CEO of ImpreMedia. "By adding the
Orlando and Tampa reach of La Prensa, we now offer seven first-class
publications in six vibrant markets. We can continue to provide national
advertisers with an unmatched Spanish language newspaper footprint in top U.S.
markets that are home to over 16 million Hispanics - 37% of the U.S. Hispanic
population."
Added Paton: "This is a first step for ImpreMedia into Florida and we hope to
expand that presence soon. We add La Prensa, which is distributed across Central
Florida, to properties in New York, Illinois, and California, where we have the
nation's largest Spanish language daily newspaper - La Opinión in Los Angeles.
ImpreMedia now offers irresistible market reach and an unbeatable nationwide
platform of high quality local journalism."
A passion for local journalism. "My husband and I founded La Prensa more than a
quarter of a century ago and we believe that ImpreMedia is the right custodian
of La Prensa's history and its future," stated Dora Casanova de Toro, Publisher
of La Prensa. "We are also genuinely excited by the growth opportunity that
ImpreMedia now provides for our readers, advertisers and employees. ImpreMedia
has demonstrated its strong commitment to the Hispanic community in each of its
acquisitions and shown a genuine passion at each of its publications for local
production of high-quality Spanish-language journalism. I look forward to
continuing as a member of the ImpreMedia team in the next phase of La Prensa's
growth."
Hispanic growth in Central Florida. "National attention has been given to the
Hispanic communities in South Florida," noted Rossana Rosado, publisher and CEO
of El Diario / La Prensa in New York City. "But the growth of Hispanic
communities in Central Florida has actually outpaced the rest of the state's
growth, 11 percent to 8 percent. Hispanic purchasing power in Central Florida
alone is now in the range of $13 billion with no slowdown in sight."
Rosado added: "We are thrilled to have a partner like La Prensa to help us serve
this large and rapidly growing market. The similarities in the makeup of the
Central Florida and New York markets provide the perfect opportunity for La
Prensa and El Diario to cooperate to better serve these strong Hispanic
communities."
Bridging the Hispanic advertising gap. "The proportion of dollars spent on
Hispanic-targeted newspaper advertising remains significantly below that spent
on English-language newspapers - despite projections that say that Hispanic
purchasing power will grow at three times the U.S. average," added Paton. "We
intend to bridge that gap by continuing to rapidly build upon what is already
the biggest platform for publishing Spanish language newspapers in this
country."
La Prensa also joins ImpreMedia's Domingo Network, the nation's largest Hispanic
residential print network. With the addition of La Prensa's weekly circulation
of 50,000 ImpreMedia's Domingo Network will now have a weekly distribution of
more than 800,000 in high density Hispanic neighborhoods across the United
States. Between its Domingo Network and paid daily circulation in New York and
Los Angeles, ImpreMedia now has a total weekly distribution of more than 1.9
million
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About ImpreMedia:
ImpreMedia is the leading publisher of Spanish language newspapers in the U.S.
The company publishes La Opinión and La Opinión Contigo in Los Angeles, El
Diario / La Prensa and El Diario Contigo in New York City, La Raza in Chicago,
El Mensajero in the San Francisco Bay area, and La Prensa in Central Florida,
the leading Spanish language newspapers in each of their respective markets.
For more information:
Contact Desiree Nazario at
desiree.nazario@eldiariony.com or call (212) 807-4662. Visit us at
http://www.impremedia.com on the Web.
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