Platinum Equity, a Beverly Hills investment firm, has finalized its acquisition of The San Diego Union-Tribune from its previous owner, The Copley Press Inc., which had been looking for a buyer since last July.
“Big picture, we believe that newspapers like the Union-Tribune will continue to be very relevant in their communities as long as they are committed to delivering real value in terms of content,” said Louis Samson, the Platinum principal in charge of the acquisition, in a written response to questions from the Union-Tribune.
Paul Bridwell will be the Union-Tribune’s chief restructuring officer, working to turn around the newspaper.
From the Union-Tribune’s article:
Platinum announced the appointment of turnaround specialist Paul Bridwell as the Union-Tribune’s chief restructuring officer. Bridwell, who has served in senior positions with several Platinum Equity portfolio companies, will be the senior executive at the newspaper until a permanent publisher is named. Once a publisher is in place, Bridwell will remain on the staff at the Union-Tribune to help guide restructuring efforts and long-term strategy.
In a written statement, Bridwell said his immediate priorities would be to improve the newspaper’s financial performance and to work with senior management to develop a long-term plan for growth.
The firm said it expects to announce the appointment of a publisher soon. Samson said Platinum has been looking for a newspaper veteran “who is capable of scaling the business in the near-term and identifying and executing on longer-term revenue growth.”
Platinum said the firm is hopeful that Union-Tribune Vice President and Editor Karin Winner, who has led the Union-Tribune’s newsroom and editorial page since 1995, will continue her role.
The sale comes amid a difficult period for newspapers, which have struggled with declining circulation and the loss of classified advertising to online competitors. Former Union-Tribune President and Chief Executive Gene Bell said last year that the paper’s advertising, its primary source of revenue, was down 40 percent since 2006.
You can read the whole story here. For a Q&A with the Platinum Equity principal in charge of the acquisition, read here.
