MILWAUKEE (AP) — Federal regulators have approved media company Gannett's purchase of newspaper company Journal Media Group for $280 million.

The two companies said Thursday that the U.S. Department of Justice has approved the purchase. The deal is expected to close Friday.

Journal Media publications dot the Midwest and South, including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tennessee.

Industry experts say the publications are a natural fit for Gannett's strategy of maximizing short-term profits through centralization and managing the decline of publications in less competitive markets.

McLean, Virginia-based Gannett moved all of its television companies into a separate company, Tegna, last summer. Gannett's flagship publication is USA Today.

In February, Gannett said the Journal Media Group purchase would add approximately $450 million in annual revenue.