Business

Owner of Times-News buys more papers

By Bill Moss, Published: June 3, 2012

The investor group that owns the Times-News of Hendersonville has bought 10 more newspapers in North Carolina and 12 in Florida, numerous news outlets reported.Freedom Communications of Irvine, Calif., announced last week that Halifax Media had bought the newspapers. Since it emerged from bankruptcy in 2010, Freedom had sought a buyer for its newspapers in North Carolina, Florida, Texas and elsewhere.
Exploiting a buyers' market for newspapers, the Florida-based investor group has gone from one newspaper a year ago to more than 35 now. In January Halifax closed on its purchase of the 16 properties of the New York Times Regional Media Group for $143 million, including the Times-News, the Wilmington Star-News, Lexington Dispatch and Spartanburg Herald-Journal.
The new purchase includes the Shelby Star, Gaston Gazette, Shelby Star, Burlington Times-News, the Kinston Free Press, Havelock News, The Daily News of Jacksonville, the New Bern Sun Journal and the Topsail Advertiser. The sale was expected to close within 30 days, Freedom said in the news release.
The Halifax purchase was the second major buy of a newspaper group involving North Carolina properties in recent weeks. Last month the investment group controlled by billionaire investor Warren Buffett bought most of the newspapers owned by Richmond-based Media General including papers in Winston-Salem, Hickory, Statesville and Concord.