Gannett Co., best known as the publisher of USA Today, announced it will purchase the remaining 73% of Classified Ventures, the company that owns Cars.com, for $1.8 billion in cash.
Gannett, which owns 27% of Classified Ventures, will buy out the four other stakeholders: Tribune Media Co., McClatchy Co., A.H. Belo Corp., and Graham Holdings Co. The sale values Cars.com, which was started in 1998 as an online car-buying and -selling tool, at $2.5 billion, and will further Gannett’s focus into digital businesses, the company said.
