• by Tony Silber , Staff Writer, March 4, 2022

The surprising pace of small-newspaper M&A continues, seemingly in the face of the industry’s decline, which seems to be everywhere.

Two deals this week are worth noting. CherryRoad Media, based in Parsippany, New Jersey, announced on Wednesday  it acquired nine newspapers published in Arkansas and Missouri from Rust Communications Inc. And in Montana, a century of single-family newspaper ownership came to an end on Monday when Brian and LeAnne Kavanagh sold the Shelby Promoter, the Cut Bank Pioneer Press, the Browning Glacier Reporter and The Valierian to Ponderosa Publications.

Terms of both transactions were not disclosed, but each was brokered by the M&A firm Cribb, Cope & Potts. In the CherryRoad Media deal, which closed March 1, the sale included these titles:

• Marshall Democrat-News in Marshall, Missouri.
• Monett Times in Monett, Missouri.
• Cassville Democrat in Cassville, Missouri.
• South Missourian News in Thayer, Missouri.
• Carroll County News in Berryville, Arkansas.
• Lovely County Citizen in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
• The News in Salem, Arkansas.
• Villager Journal in Cherokee Village, Arkansas.
• Clay County Times-Democrat in Piggott, Arkansas.

CherryRoad Media entered the newspaper industry in late 2020, barely more than a year ago, with the purchase of the weekly Cook County News-Herald in Minnesota. It has since acquired 52 other titles, including four in Arkansas and four in Missouri, as well as two start-up newspapers in Minnesota.

It’s a wholly owned subsidiary of CherryRoad Technologies, a technology company that provides system-integration services to large enterprise customers. CEO Jeremy Gulban said CherryRoad decided to look at the local newspaper industry because the company felt there was a need for an infusion of technology in support of the industry, rather than in competition.

Gulban said the plan is to keep the focus on local news and offer additional digital solutions to supplement the printed newspapers. “I want to thank the Rust family for working with us to find a good home for these important community publications,” he said in a press release from Cribb, Cope & Potts.

Rust Communications is based in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and is a second-generation media company, with 33 newspapers and minority ownership of 17 radio stations in nine states. “Jeremy and CherryRoad’s commitment to employees, technological innovation and small markets is impressive,” noted Jon K. Rust, president of Rust Communications.

In Montana, the four papers sold are all weeklies located in the Golden Triangle area of north-central Montana.

Brian and LeAnne Kavanagh were the fourth generation of the family to own the Shelby Promoter, dating back to 1922. They managed the Cut Bank Pioneer Press for then-owner John Kavanagh, then acquired the Glacier Reporter in 1985, followed by the Shelby Promoter and Cut Bank Pioneer Press in 1995 and The Valierian in 2002.

Ponderosa Publications is affiliated with Mullen Newspaper Company, based in Deer Lodge, Montana. Mullen manages three other Montana newspapers, the Silver State Post in Deer Lodge, the Philipsburg Mail, and the Bitterroot Star in Stevensville.