The owner of the Los Angeles Times is considering buying the Orange County Register or combining some operations with the Santa Ana-based newspaper, according to a report in the Financial Times.
Chicago-based Tribune Co., which owns the L.A. Times, has held talks on a buy or operations combination, the Financial Times reported, citing unnamed industry sources.
The story echoes a September Business Journal article that said businessmen George Argyros and Larry Higby had expressed interest in buying the Register and that the L.A. Times and Register were in talks about combining some operations in a cost-sharing deal.
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See the Business Journal story here
Private equity firms Blackstone Group LP and Providence Equity Partners LLC, which own about 45% of the Register’s Irvine-based parent company Freedom Communications Inc., could be open to a sale, according to the Financial Times.
The investors may push for something higher than a firesale price to reflect the cost savings Tribune would see, the story said.
The Register could be valued at $50 million to $100 million, according to the report.
Tribune also was reported to be “loosely entertaining” whether it could buy Copley Press, the privately held publisher of The San Diego Union-Tribune, or strike a joint operating agreement that could further cut production and distribution costs.
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See the Financial Times article here
