Village News Inc. raising capital through stock sale

FALLBROOK - Village News Inc., owner of the Village News in Fallbrook/Bonsall, the Valley News in the Temecula Valley, the Anza Valley Outlook in Anza, and other publications and multi-media interests is raising capital through the sale of its Preferred Stock, Series B shares and its Common Stock, according to company president Julie Reeder.

The preferred stock carries a cumulative dividend of 10 percent, to be paid quarterly. The minimum investment is $2,000. Village News, Inc. has a 12-year history of paying dividends to investors of preferred stock who initially stepped up to invest in the community paper during its inception.

“This is an exciting time for our company, which has grown significantly over the years,” Reeder said. “Village News Inc. significantly improved its earnings this year, and we see multiple opportunities to expand operations in the next few years.”

She added the funds raised from the new offering are designed to retire some short-term debt accumulated in recent years largely due to the 2007 wildfires and the impact of the national economic recession.

Village News Inc. is a Southern California award-winning multi-media information company, based in Fallbrook. It began in 1997 as the Village News, a weekly newspaper launched in Fallbrook by Reeder and a core group of residents and investors. A weekly newspaper – Valley News – in the Temecula Valley (Southwest Riverside County) was launched in 2000, expanding the company’s coverage area and core product mix significantly.

Both publications were supplemented quickly with website components, further expanding the company into electronic platforms for information distribution. And in 2003, the annual Greater Fallbrook Area Sourcebook was launched, quickly becoming the largest single publication by page count published by the company. The company expanded again in 2008 with the acquisition of the Anza Valley Outlook weekly newspaper, and the launch of the monthly Village Lifestyle – the company’s first regularly published specialty magazine. These products collectively have garnered over a hundred Society of Professional Journalist awards, as well as dozens of community awards.

The offering is for up to 47,000 shares of Preferred Stock, Series B shares at the offering price of $1.00 per share. A subscriber must purchase a minimum of 2,000 shares, or $2,000. Village News Inc. also offers a similar amount (47,000) of shares of its Common Stock.

The offering is related to the Certificate of Determination of Preferences of Preferred Shares of Village News Inc. (a California corporation) filed in the office of the Secretary of State of the State of California on April 9, 2010.

The Common Stock is the corporation’s only class of voting stock. The Series B Preferred Stock is non-voting. The Series B Preferred Stock carries a cumulative dividend of 10 percent of par value.

For more information on the stock offering, call (760) 723-7319 and ask for Kay Howley.