GateHouse to merge 7 newspapers into 2
Seven weekly newspapers in central Arkansas owned by GateHouse Media will be folded into two weekly newspapers serving Pulaski and Lonoke counties, the Fairport, N.Y., firm said.
The changes will begin with the editions of May 10.
In Lonoke County, the Cabot Star Herald, Lonoke Democrat and The Carlisle Independent will combine into the Lonoke County Democrat and will be distributed on Wednesdays.
In Pulaski County, the North Little Rock Times will remain and the Maumelle Monitor, Sherwood Voice and Jacksonville Patriot will be folded into the Times and distributed on Thursdays.
The decision to combine into countywide editions was not made lightly, said Jeremy Peppas, GateHouse's regional editor.
"These papers have long and proud histories," Peppas said in a news release. "But to have a future, financially, combined county publications was the best decision and it will allow us to give readers more."
-- David Smith
Bank of Ozarks puts $100M in NYC tower
Little Rock-based Bank of the Ozarks provided $100 million for the refinancing of a New York City development, The Real Deal, a New York publication reported.
The loan was made to Sumi Properties Group, which has plans for a "supertall" development, The Real Deal said.
The bank originally lent $115 million on the property in 2015. Sumi Properties paid down $100 million on that loan with equity, and Bank of the Ozarks refinanced the property with the new $100 million loan, The Real Deal said.
Bank of the Ozarks also recently lent $235 million for a 54-story condominium in New York and $490 million over the past three years on eight construction projects in Nashville, Tenn.
Bank of the Ozarks, which has more than $19 billion in assets, has loans in 42 states.
-- David Smith
State index off 1.23 to finish at 344.05
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, dropped 1.23 to 344.05 Monday.
"The major averages closed higher as investors responded positively to the agreement reached to avoid a government shutdown," said Bob Williams, senior vice president and managing director of Simmons First Investment Group Inc. in Little Rock.
Total volume for the index was 16.8 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 05/02/2017