ROSEVILLE, Calif. -- Leading independent telecommunications holding company SureWest Communications (NASDAQ: SURW) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Directory Publishing business to GateHouse Media, Inc. (NYSE: GHS).

Under the agreement, GateHouse Media will acquire 100% of the stock of SureWest Directories, a wholly owned subsidiary of SureWest Communications, for an aggregate cash purchase price of $110.0 million, including $3.5 million of working capital, for a net purchase price of $106.5 million. GateHouse Media will become the publisher of the official directory of SureWest Telephone. Completion of the transaction is not subject to financing. SureWest expects the transaction to close by the end of the first quarter of 2007, subject to governmental and customary closing conditions, including satisfaction of the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust waiting period.

“We are very excited about the prospect of a long-term relationship with GateHouse Media,” commented Steve Oldham, SureWest’s president and chief executive officer. “This transaction allows SureWest to continue to focus on our core business of being a full-service integrated communications provider.”

SureWest Communications (Nasdaq: SURW)