Board of Directors Declares Quarterly Dividend, Authorizes Repurchase of More Common Stock
ARLINGTON, Va. – A quarterly dividend of 21 cents per share was approved today by the board of directors of Gannett Co., Inc. The dividend is payable on April 3, 2000, to shareholders of record on March 3, 2000.
The Board, meeting in regular session, also authorized the repurchase of an additional $500 million of the company’s common stock, the second such authorization this year. A substantial portion of that earlier amount has been used.
The shares will be repurchased at management’s discretion, either in the open market or in privately negotiated block transactions. The decision to buy back stock will depend on price, availability and other corporate developments. Purchases will occur from time to time and no maximum purchase price has been set.
Gannett Co., Inc. is an international news and information company that publishes 74 daily newspapers in the USA, including USA TODAY, the nation’s largest-selling daily newspaper. The company also owns a variety of non-daily publications and USA WEEKEND, a weekly newspaper magazine. Newsquest plc, a wholly owned Gannett subsidiary acquired in mid-1999, is one of the largest regional newspaper publishers in England with a portfolio of more than 180 titles. Its publications include 11 daily newspapers with a combined circulation of approximately 450,000. Newsquest also publishes a variety of non-daily publications including Berrow’s Worcester Journal, the oldest continuously published newspaper in the world. Gannett also operates 21 television stations.