WASHINGTON—The Justice Department said Thursday it closed an antitrust investigation into a $317 million deal between publishers Hearst Corp. and ap Inc.
The deal, which gives Hearst a 31 percent stake in MediaNews newspapers outside the San Francisco Bay Area, closed on Oct. 19.
It was subject to antitrust examination because New York-based Hearst owns the San Francisco Chronicle, the largest-circulation daily in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Denver-based MediaNews owns numerous daily and weekly publications in that region including the San Jose Mercury News and The Oakland Tribune.
The Justice Department said in a statement that its investigation “focused on whether the proposed investment would give one party an incentive to compete less vigorously in the Bay Area.” It said the companies altered the deal’s terms in response to antitrust concerns.
The companies’ interactions will “continue to be subject to scrutiny” under antitrust laws, the Justice Department said.
In April, Hearst and MediaNews settled an antitrust lawsuit initiated by a San Francisco businessman that alleged a partnership between the two companies would create a regional newspaper monopoly.
The two media firms agreed to rescind a cooperative agreement to share national advertising, Internet ad sales, distribution and production.
Hearst invested in MediaNews as part of a complex deal that helped finance the MediaNews purchase of the Contra Costa Times, Monterey County Herald and San Jose Mercury News last year. Both publishers are privately held.
W. Dean Singleton, vice chairman and chief executive of MediaNews, is chairman of The Associated Press, a not-for-profit cooperative owned by its member news organizations.
