Eileen Murphy, a Times spokeswoman, confirmed that Mr. Henry would pay $70 million for the paper. That would represent a staggering drop in value for the Globe, which The Times bought in 1993 for $1.1 billion, the highest price paid for an American newspaper. At the time, The Globe was one of the nation’s most prestigious papers in a far more robust newspaper environment. But like other newspapers, it began to lose readers and advertisers to the Internet, and revenue plummeted. The Times Company has taken several write-downs related to the New England Media Group, and in February it said it was putting The Globe and other assets in the group up for sale.
For The Globe, the planned sale restores a Boston connection that prevailed for 120 years under the Taylor family, which owned the paper from 1873 until its sale 20 years ago. While not from Boston, Mr. Henry has for the last decade been active in local sports, and his Fenway Sports Group owns the Red Sox, Fenway Park and 80 percent of the New England Sports Network. It also owns the soccer club Liverpool F.C. in the English Premier League.
“This is a thriving, dynamic region that needs a strong, sustainable Boston Globe playing an integral role in the community’s long-term future,” Mr. Henry said in a statement about the sale. “In coming days there will be announcements concerning those joining me in this community commitment and effort.”
In addition to The Globe, the sale includes BostonGlobe.com; Boston.com; The Worcester Telegram Gazette; Telegram.com; the direct mail marketing company Globe Direct; and the company’s 49 percent interest in Metro Boston, a free daily paper. Mr. Henry is buying the media group without partners through his acquisition company; under terms of the sale, he does not have to assume the Globe’s pension liabilities.
The all-cash sale is expected to close in 30-60 days.
The Globe is not the only paper to sell for a heavily discounted price. In April 2012, Philadelphia’s newspapers sold for $55 million after selling for $515 million in 2006. In October, The Tampa Tribune sold for $9.5 million. During recent talks about the sale of the Tribune Company’s portfolio of newspapers, analysts estimated that the entire newspaper company, including The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune, was worth only $623 million.
For the Times Company, the New England Media Group was the last big asset in a portfolio it had been downsizing for several years. The acquisition of The Globe in 1993 was part of the company’s strategy to solidify its grip on the eastern corridor advertising sector and to have a presence that stretched from Maine to the District of Columbia. At the time, in addition to its flagship New York newspaper, the Times Company owned 31 regional newspapers, 20 magazines, 5 television stations, 2 radio stations and other businesses. It also had a half-interest, with the Washington Post Company, in The International Herald Tribune.
But in recent years, the Times Company has been divesting itself of its noncore assets to focus on developing its primary brand, The New York Times. In 2012, the company sold its 16 regional newspapers. Last year, it sold the About Group to IAC/InterActiveCorp for $300 million. This year, The Times announced plans to expand its global presence by changing the name of The International Herald Tribune to The International New York Times and attracting a new global audience of readers to become subscribers.
The Globe attracted a range of prospective buyers. Among those who expressed interest were Douglas F. Manchester, owner of the U-T San Diego; and a group led by Jack Griffin, the former chief executive of Time Inc., that included Ben and Steve Taylor, whose family sold The Globe to the Times Company.
Eric Bishop contributed reporting from New York and Gerry Mullany contributed from Hong Kong.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/business/media/new-york-times-company-sells-boston-globe.html?partner=rss&emc=rss