And it was announced today.
Headed by lawyer and businessman Lewis Katz, 70 (right) of Cherry Hill a local group of investors has purchased the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News and philly.com for $55 million from a collection of hedge funds. The new group promises an additional $10 million in working capital for operations.
Last week we pegged the buying price at $56 million and we were almost right on the nose.
We also said the purchase was a done deal and that an announcement was imminent. We were right about that as well.
The new owners also includes Democratic leader George E. Norcross III, 56, and H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest, 81, Holtec International Corp. chief executive officer Krishna P. "Kris" Singh, 64, and Liberty Property Trust CEO William P. Hankowsky, 61, and Joseph Buckelew, 81, chairman of Conner Strong Buckelew, an insurance brokerage based in South Jersey.
Reportedly, Katz and Norcross will serve as managing partners of Interstate General Media L.L.C., the new parent company; Lenfest will serve as chairman of the board. The enterprise will still do business as Philadelphia Media Network.
The new owners say they will retain PMN's management team headed by Greg Osberg and three of the six owners have already signed a pledge today saying they will not interfere with the operations of PMN's three newsrooms. That pledge was supposedly drafted by the three editors of the Inquirer, Daily News and philly.com. All of the owners say they will sign it.
The value of the two newspapers and the web site has steadily declined and the three media outlets have been plagued by lagging revenue and attendant layoffs. Just six years ago the company was purchased for $515 million by a group that later declared itself bankrupt. Now, it's been sold for a fraction of that amount.
It's no secret that newspapers are hurting and web sites are hard top monetize, let alone sustain.
The Inquirer, Daily News and philly.com have had four owners in six years.
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