Roby Brock
The Northwest Arkansas Business Journal of Springdale will be acquired by the owners of Talk Business & Politics, the two publications said Thursday morning.
Under the deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, the business journal’s CEO and publisher, Rob Gutteridge, will become a co-owner of the combined operation’s parent company, Natural State Media, which is based in Fort Smith.
Financial details were not released for the deal, in which Natural State, led by Roby Brock, purchased the business journal’s parent company, Gray Matters LLC of Springdale, from Darin and Tami Gray.
Darin Gray is chairman and CEO of CJRW of Little Rock, one of the state’s top marketing and advertising agencies. The result of the transaction will be what the publications described as “one of the largest Arkansas media companies focused on business and politics.”
Brock, Natural State’s publisher and CEO, thanked the Grays for “their trust and willingness to sell a company they had spent many years growing.” He said Natural State had been “growing its footprint in Northwest Arkansas” and that the deal made sense for a quicker expansion in the market.
“The leadership team at the Journal and our leadership team share a similar vision for where media is heading,” he said.
In an email to Arkansas Business, Darin Gray confirmed that Natural State Media will own all of Gray Matters’ publications, including the Northwest Arkansas Book of Lists, the Northwest Arkansas Newcomers Guide and the Northwest Arkansas Guest Guide, “as well as The A List, 40 Under 40 and the C-Suite events.”
Gutteridge referred all questions to Brock.
“Rob will be making an equity contribution to the investment group and he will be one of our key management leaders going forward,” Brock said, adding that Gutteridge is widely known in northwest Arkansas and will continue to lead operations in the region. “He will eventually have a larger role with the company in other markets too.”
Brock said that he and Talk Business Executive Editor Michael Tilley, who is also a co-owner of Natural State, had no immediate plans for changes at either company, but he noted “opportunities to build upon the successful elements of a combined operation.”
Talk Business recently announced that it would become a once-a-year print magazine while focusing on its online presence. The Northwest Arkansas Business Journal has a web presence in addition to publishing in print every two weeks.
“With the Journal as part of our team, we will be able to better sell, promote and produce content for the annual TB&P State of the State publication that we will publish in January,” Brock said in an email. “This deal will strengthen our business presence in northwest Arkansas, and we see opportunities to export some of the Journal’s business model to other markets across the state. It’s a two-way street: We’ll be more concentrated in one of the fastest-growing regions of the country and we’ll take northwest Arkansas news to other corners of the state.”
While saying both Talk Business and the business journal are doing well and there is no need for “immediate disruption,” Tilley said “we have identified areas in which we can improve the quality and quantity of our brand of business and political journalism.” He also said there were areas “in which we can improve the business fundamentals through a combined company.”
The private company, which Brock said has about 20 employees, does not reveal revenue figures.
In October 2015, a reformatted Talk Business & Politics emerged from the merger of River Rock Communications and TCW Media (The City Wire). Natural State Media focuses on business and political news in northwest Arkansas, the Fort Smith area, central Arkansas, northeast Arkansas and statewide, the company said. Owners now are Brock, Tilley, Patricia Brown, Chester Koprovic and Bennie Westphal. Gutteridge will become an owner when the deal closes.
Gray Matters consolidated ownership of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal in September 2013, buying out a 25 percent stake from Olivia Farrell, CEO of Arkansas Business Publishing Group, the parent company of Arkansas Business. Darin Gray had become majority owner of the journal in 2004.
The publication began in April 1997 as a division of ABPG. Gray joined ABPG that year as associate publisher of the business journal and was promoted to publisher in 1999.
In discussing the timing of the transaction, Brock noted that Darin and Tami Gray have moved to Little Rock. “Darin conveyed to me in our negotiations that he wanted the staff of the Journal to be well taken care of, and we see their value and the need to keep them all intact. So the timing was right for the Grays and the timing was right for us.”
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