ECM acquires Minn. Sun Newspapers

ECM Publishers has acquired the Sun Newspaper Group in a merger of two large Minnesota newspaper groups.

Officials of Coon Rapids-based ECM signed an agreement Friday to acquire the Sun Group from Dallas-based American Community Newspapers II. Terms were not disclosed.

The newly acquired newspaper group will be called ECM-Sun Group LLC. The combined company includes 500 employees and 55 publications, reaching 700,000 homes weekly.

Both ECM and the Sun Group are made up of newspapers, shoppers and websites. ECM publishes 15 newspapers with total weekly circulation of 155,000 and six shoppers with a combined circulation of 191,000. The Sun Group publishes 32 newspapers with total weekly circulation of 357,000 and two shoppers with a circulation of 38,000.

ECM was started in 1976 by former Minnesota Gov. Elmer L. Andersen. (Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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