New York Times Company Sells Boston Globe (original) (raw)

Media|New York Times Company Sells Boston Globe

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/business/media/new-york-times-company-sells-boston-globe.html

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Aug. 3, 2013

The New York Times Company, in its latest move to shed assets and focus more on its core brand, has agreed to sell The Boston Globe and its other New England media properties to John W. Henry, principal owner of the Boston Red Sox.

The sale, for 70million,wouldreturnthepapertolocalownershipaftertwodecadesinwhichitstruggledtostemthedeclineincirculationandrevenue.ThepricewouldrepresentastaggeringdropinvalueforTheGlobe,whichTheTimesboughtin1993for70 million, would return the paper to local ownership after two decades in which it struggled to stem the decline in circulation and revenue. The price would represent a staggering drop in value for The Globe, which The Times bought in 1993 for 70million,wouldreturnthepapertolocalownershipaftertwodecadesinwhichitstruggledtostemthedeclineincirculationandrevenue.ThepricewouldrepresentastaggeringdropinvalueforTheGlobe,whichTheTimesboughtin1993for1.1 billion, among the highest prices 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 direct-mail marketing company Globe Direct; the company’s 49 percent interest in Metro Boston, a free daily paper; Telegram.com and The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. The Times bought the Telegram & Gazette for $295 million in 1999.

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