A family-owned conglomerate based in Florida now owns almost 10% of Davenport-based newspaper publisher Lee Enterprises.
The Hoffmann Family of Companies (HF Companies) recently announced that it now owns a 9.7% share of Lee and is the chain’s second largest shareholder behind Quint Digital Limited.
“We have and will continue to purchase shares in the company as market conditions present themselves,” David Hoffmann, Hoffmann’s chairman, said in a news release issued Dec. 13.
“We believe in newspapers, local journalism, and digital media. We have been and continue to be successful throughout the country with our media assets. I’m not going away, and we will continue to invest,” he said. “We feel local journalism is a part of the fabric of America and will invest to protect it and help it prosper.”
Pason Gaddis, CEO of the Hoffmann Media group, added: “The management team at Lee is doing a great job and our investing in Lee is to help them grow and continue to serve local markets.)”
In the Quad Cities region, Lee is the owner and publisher of the Quad-City Times, Moline Dispatch and Muscatine Journal newspapers. It publishes more than 350 weekly and specialty publications serving 73 markets in 26 states.
Hoffmann’s newspaper arm, Hoffmann Media Group, already owns 19 publications covering 30 markets spread from Michigan to California to Florida. The list of titles includes: Florida Weekly, with editions in six Florida markets — Bonita Springs, Charlotte County, Fort Myers, Key West, Naples and Palm Beach — and the Ave Maria Sun, Florida Health Care News and the Mackinac Island Town Crier in Michigan.
According to the release, the HF Companies “ongoing investment in Lee underscores its commitment to preserving and enhancing local journalism. The company aims to leverage its media investment to support and grow local news outlets across the United States.”
In late September, Hoffmann Media bought the Napa Valley Publishing Co. from Lee Enterprises for an undisclosed sum. Napa Valley’s publications include a pair in Northern California that began publishing more than 150 years ago.
The Hoffmann Family of Companies is a diversified family-owned conglomerate that employs more than 9,000 people at 250 facilities around the world.
