• by Ray Schultz , March 10, 2025

Gannett has prepaid $57.5 million in debt with the proceeds of the sale of the Austin American-Statesman to Hearst last month and partly with cash on hand.

The publisher has thus been able to reduce what it owes on its five-year first-lien term loan facility from $850.0 million to $792.5 million.

"As part of our long-term strategy, debt repayment remains a high priority, and we continue to make measurable progress, while also maintaining a healthy balance sheet and a strong liquidity position," says Michael Reed, chairman and chief executive officer of Gannett. "We believe we are well positioned to further improve our capital structure in 2025, and as a result, we expect to repay well over $100 million of debt through asset sales and continued free cash flow growth.”

Gannett announced in February that it was divesting the Austin American-Statesman and selling it to Hearst. 

Reed adds, “We believe our recent debt repayment, combined with our expected full year growth in Adjusted EBITDA, positions us well to achieve a first lien net leverage approaching 2.0x by the end of the year."