A private equity firm agreed on Wednesday to buy the California newspaper the San Diego Union-Tribune, in a surprise move given the upheaval in the US newspaper industry.
The Copley Press, Inc., the Union-Tribune's owner, and Platinum Equity of Beverly Hills, said they had signed a definitive agreement under which an affiliate of Platinum would acquire San Diego?s leading newspaper.
The purchase price was not disclosed.
"At this important juncture, we believe that Platinum Equity is the right partner for the Union-Tribune, its employees and the San Diego community," Copley executive vice president Harold Fuson Jr. said in a statement.
"This is a vital business with a long tradition of public service and a preeminent position in one of America?s finest media markets," he added.
Platinum specializes in acquiring businesses facing "complex operational challenges in declining or transitioning markets," and a Platinum executive acknowledged the difficulties facing the US newspaper industry.
"We have a long history of creating value by helping established companies navigate difficult market transitions," said Louis Samson.
"The Union-Tribune is more than a business, it?s an institution in San Diego. But it faces enormous challenge in a period of tremendous upheaval for the newspaper industry.
"We will bring a strong operational focus that helps ensure the Union-Tribune not only survives in this market, but thrives," he said.
The agreement to buy the Union-Tribune came just one day after another struggling West Coast newspaper, the 146-year-old Seattle Post-Intelligencer, printed its final edition.
A Denver, Colorado, newspaper, The Rocky Mountain News, closed in February and Hearst Corp., owner of the San Francisco Chronicle, has threatened to shut down the money-losing paper unless its staff agree to significant job cuts.
Newspapers have been struggling across the United States faced with a steep decline in print advertising revenue, falling circulation and the migration of readers to free news online.
The Union-Tribune reported on its website that advertising, its primary source of revenue, had declined 40 percent since 2006.
The Union-Tribune newspaper was founded in 1992 through the merger of The San Diego Union and the Evening Tribune, both of which have been owned by the Copley family of La Jolla, California, for 80 years.
Source: AFP American Edition
