Cowles' principal asset is the Star Tribune newspaper serving the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. At the time the merger was announced, McClatchy indicated its intent to sell Cowles' non-newspaper assets. CBM is a publisher of specialized business magazines and information services and CEM publishes 29 special-interest consumer magazines and related books and products. CCP is a specialty and custom publisher, distributor and direct marketer of books, videos and interactive media for the home arts, home improvements and outdoor markets. We can now close the sale of these assets simultaneously with the closing of our merger with Cowles and use the proceeds to immediately reduce debt related to the Cowles transaction.
Cowles provides authoritative editorial content and is lead by a strong management team.
The Cowles Enthusiast Media Division will be a freestanding unit of our Specialty Magazines Group, and the Business Media Division will become a unit of Intertec, our trade and technical magazine group. McClatchy Newspapers, Inc., headquartered in Sacramento, California, currently publishes 10 daily and 13 non-daily newspapers located in western coastal states and North and South Carolina. Cowles Media Company is a newspaper, magazine and information services company headquartered in Minneapolis.