The New York Times Company said on Monday it was in advanced talks to sell 16 regional newspapers, another indication the company was divesting itself of assets to concentrate on its core newspaper business.

Halifax Media Holdings of Daytona Beach, Fla., is currently negotiating the purchase of the Times Company’s Regional Media Group, a division that includes newspapers across the country like The Sarasota Herald-Tribune in Florida; The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, Calif.; The Star-News in Wilmington, N.C.; The Gainesville Sun, also in Florida; and The Tuscaloosa News in Alabama.

Combined, the papers have a Monday-through-Friday circulation of 433,251 and 1,755 full-time employees. Analysts estimated that the sale of the regional papers would be completed later this week and priced at around $145 million. Robert H. Christie, a spokesman for the Times Company, declined to comment.
]The announcement comes just a week after the Times Company said it was in advanced talks with Halifax to sell its regional media group, which consists of 16 regional newspapers including The Gainesville Sun; The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, Calif.; The Sarasota Herald Tribune; and The Tuscaloosa News.

The deal is expected to be completed in the next few weeks. The company, in a statement, said it estimates net after-tax proceeds from the sale will be approximately $150 million.

In a statement, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., chairman of The New York Times Company, praised the publications for serving “as trusted institutions in their communities, delivering news and information that matter most to their readers.”

Mr. Sulzberger added that the group’s sale “will enable The New York Times Company to continue our transformation to a digitally focused, multiplatform media company.”

Advancing its digital strategy has been a key focus for the company, which was highlighted by The New York Times’s announcement of a digital subscription plan in March.
The New York Times Co. has agreed to sell 16 regional newspapers, including the Herald-Journal, to a Florida-based company for $143 million.

The Times announced the pending sale to Halifax Media Holdings LLC in a written statement Tuesday evening - roughly a week after confirming that both parties were in advanced talks.

The transaction is expected to close within a few weeks, allowing the Times to record an after-tax gain of an estimated $150 million in the first quarter of 2012.

Roger Quinn, publisher of the Herald-Journal, said, “We're excited to be joining the Halifax Media Group and look forward to this opportunity to further build our market-leading newspapers and websites.”

“The Herald-Journal has a long history of providing great journalism to the Upstate under various owners,” Quinn said. “We will continue to meet the news and information needs of our readers both in print and online as part of Halifax.”

The sale includes the following publications: the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in Sarasota, Fla.; The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, Calif.; The Ledger in Lakeland, Fla.; Star-News in Wilmington, N.C.; Herald-Journal in Spartanburg; Star-Banner in Ocala, Fla.; The Gainesville Sun in Gainesville, Fla.; The Tuscaloosa News in Tuscaloosa, Ala.; The Gadsden Times in Gadsden, Ala.; The Courier in Houma, La.; Times-News in Hendersonville, N.C.; Daily Comet in Thibodaux, La.; The Dispatch in Lexington, N.C.; Petaluma Argus-Courier in Petaluma, Calif.; News Chief in Winter Haven, Fla.; and North Bay Business Journal in Santa Rosa, Calif.
As optimism for the new digital subscription service at The New York Times newspaper has grown, the company’s regional publications have lagged, the steady decline driven by a drop-off in classified advertising and the migration of readers to the Web. In 2010, the Regional Media Group accounted for 11 percent of the company’s $2.4 billion in revenue.

From 2008 to 2009, advertising revenue at the Regional Media Group fell 30.2 percent, to $193 million, and declined 8.2 percent in 2010 to $177 million, according to the Times Company’s 2010 annual report. Classified ads make up 28 percent of the advertisements at the regional newspapers.

“This gets rid of another headache for The Times,” said Edward J. Atorino, a media analyst at the Benchmark Company.

Executives with the Times Company said they had been in talks for months with Halifax, which owns The Daytona-Beach News Journal and four other local news organizations in Florida and across the South. Even though the deal has not been completed, the Halifax Web site listed all of the Times Company’s regional papers as its own on Monday morning, tipping off the media blogger Jim Romenesko. Halifax could not be reached for comment.
The roster of newspapers being sold to the Florida-based company includes the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and the Santa Rosa Pres Democrat.

Also read: Top N.Y. Times Staffers Pen Angry Letter to Publisher

“These news organizations have served as trusted institutions in their communities, delivering news and information that matter most to their readers,” Arthur Sulzberger Jr., publisher of the New York Times and chairman of The New York Times Company, said in a statement. “The sale of our Regional Media Group will enable The New York Times Company to continue our transformation to a digitally-focused, multiplatform media company.”

Also Read: NY Times Reports 3Q Profits Despite Slumping Ad Revenue

That statements signals that while the Times Company sees opportunity for digital revenue growth at its flagship newspaper and in other holdings such the Boston Globe and International Herald Tribune, the future is murkier for smaller papers.

The corporate press release says the sale will close within a few weeks and that the money will be used for “general corporate purposes.”
The sale is expected to close in a few weeks, and The New York Times Co. will record an after-tax gain on the sale in the first quarter of 2012.

The company plans to use proceeds from the sale for general corporate purposes.

Founded last year, Halifax Media is based in Daytona Beach, Fla. and is owned by Stephens Capital Partners LLC, Jaarsss Media, and Redding Investments.

“The purchase of the Regional Media Group reflects Halifax Media’s belief that a good newspaper is an essential part of any vibrant community," said Michael Redding, CEO of Halifax Media.

"The strong local news coverage these papers provide represents not only an important community service, but, in our eyes, a good investment. We have been impressed with the newspapers’ reputations as well as the markets they serve. When you have the opportunity to purchase solid news products located in great markets, it is very compelling.”
Mr. Redding added that the company was “impressed with the newspapers’ reputations as well as the markets they serve.”

Ken Doctor, a media and publishing analyst at Outsell Inc., said the move would allow the Times Company to focus on its flagship brand, The New York Times, and decide what it wanted to do with The Boston Globe.

Mr. Doctor described the sale price for the regional papers as “incredibly low.”

“That’s saying basically each title is worth about $10 million” on average, he said, “which is just breathtaking when you consider what kinds of profit machines these newspapers used to be.”

In 2010, the Regional Media Group accounted for 11 percent of the company’s $2.4 billion in revenue. The group’s advertising revenue fell 8.2 percent in 2010, to $177 million, according to the Times Company’s 2010 annual report.