Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Al Diamon
Blethen Fire Sale?
The Seattle Times Co. has had enough of Maine. After a decade of owning the Portland Press Herald, Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel and other media properties – collectively known as the Blethen Maine Newspapers – the Washington state company is getting out.
On March 17, the Times announced it was putting its Maine interests on the market, because, according to a statement by Seattle Times CEO and publisher Frank Blethen, “a sale may be the best opportunity for the long-term survival of our newspapers in Washington and those in Maine.” Last week, the company announced layoffs and cutbacks at the Press Herald (see “Big cuts at Blethen”) due to declining advertising revenue. Although there’s been no official announcement, the Portland paper’s daily price will increase in April from 60 cents to 75 cents.
The Seattle Times has hired Dirks, Van Essen & Murray of Santa Fe, NM, to handle the sale. The company specializes in newspaper mergers and acquisitions. Blethen officials said they hope to complete the deal by the end of 2008, although, according to a broadcast report, they don’t have a buyer lined up at this time.
The Times is reported to have paid over $200 million for the Maine papers in 1998. Industry insiders are already speculating the weakened earnings in recent years may mean Blethen is worth $100 million or less today, although that figure could be on the low side, considering the company’s valuable real estate in downtown Portland, as well as sites in South Portland, Augusta and Waterville.
While there’s been no word yet on any local investors who might bid for the papers, the sale is likely to attract attention from several national chains.
— Filed March 17, 2008
Al Diamon can be e-mailed at aldiamon@herniahill.net.
Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 in Permalink
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Reader Comments:
A couple of updates: In the Portland Press Herald of March 18, Frank Blethen confirmed speculation the Maine newspapers will likely sell at a bargain price. "We did pay top dollar for them [in 1998]" Blethen is quoted as saying. Getting half that price today "would be a reasonable assumption."
In a full-page letter to readers of the Maine papers, Blethen came up with an intriguing phrase to describe the problems his company has had making enough money off the Press Herald and its sister publications (which have been profitable all but one year of the Blethens' ownership). He blamed not only the poor national economy and social changes, but also "disruptive technologies."
Hackers? Viruses? Bloggers?
Sorry, that above post was by me, Al Diamon. I failed to properly fill out the posting info, an error I blame on "disruptive technologies."
Do we know the company's profit margin? Or is this information private?
Blethen Maine Newspapers is privately held and doesn't make its financial records public.
Al Diamon
In the past when we have seen stories about the newspapr business the "A" word was never used. The word is ADVERTISING.When Maine Times Closed , there was lots of discussion about editorial Vision and not one word about where the revenue came from to pay the editor. I find it refreshing to see the "A" word get its due. The big timber in the newspaper business is coming down because they are top heavy and either do not know how or are unable to sell advertising.
It really is all about the advertising. If the PPH ad reps actually worked to earn their living, and the union stopped protecting poor performers, the Press Herald would be in much better shape. The Blethen's are clearly poor operators and definitely do not understand this market. Under their watch, dozens of weeklies and monthlies have popped up and have taken huge dollars from the Blethen's bottom line.
Portland needs a local, daily newspaper.