The Memphis Commercial Appeal and the Knoxville News-Sentinel are among 15 daily newspapers acquired Wednesday by Gannett, which already owns the Nashville Tennessean.
That leaves the Chattanooga Times Free Press as the only large daily print newspaper in Tennessee not owned by Gannett, which is also the parent of USA Today.
The $280 million purchase from Milwaukee-based Journal Media Group also includes the 178-year-old Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as well as 18 weeklies.
Also included are the (Redding) Record-Searchlight and Ventura County Star in California; the Naples Daily News and Treasure Coast Newspapers in Florida; the Evansville Courier & Press in Indiana; The (Henderson) Gleaner in Kentucky; the (Anderson) Independent Mail in South Carolina; the Abilene Reporter-News, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, San Angelo Standard-Times and Wichita Falls Times Record News in Texas; and the Kitsap Sun in Washington.
The deal has been approved by both boards of directors and is slated to close in the first quarter of 2016.
Gannett is based in McLean, Va.
Gannett CEO Robert Dickey said, "Gannett is excited to be joining forces with an organization that is so respected by their communities and industry. Just over 100 days ago we laid out the importance of expanding our local market footprint and we are very pleased that our acquisition strategy has kicked off with such a highly regarded company. This transaction will allow us to focus on creating quality journalism for our communities while building substantial value for our shareholders. We welcome the employees of the Journal Media Group into the Gannett family and look forward to continuing to be an industry leader."
Gannett will now cover 106 local markets. ised to be an acquirer in an industry ripe for consolidation.
Integrating the companies would result in about $10 million of "synergies," or savings, with an opportunity to for an additional $25 million in the next two years, it said.