Buyer found for Press Herald
Blethen Maine Newspapers has found a buyer for the Portland Press Herald and its sister papers in central Maine.
Maine Media Investments LLC, a group of high-profile Mainers that includes former U.S. Sen. William Cohen and Bob Baldacci, the governor's brother, has signed an agreement to purchase for an undisclosed price the Portland Press Herald, Kennebec Journal in Augusta, Morning Sentinel in Waterville, MaineToday.com and Blethen Maine Newspapers' other assets by the end of the year, according to the Portland Press Herald. The purchase agreement was signed Tuesday, according to the paper.
Maine Media Investments includes former Secretary of Defense and U.S. Sen. William S. Cohen, local developers Bob Baldacci and Michael Liberty, and Richard Connor, a Bangor native who publishes a newspaper in Pennsylvania.
The final sale is dependent on Maine Media Investments ability to secure further financing for the deal, which will be a challenge given the current state of the media industry and the credit markets. "This is probably the most difficult time in the last 40 years to borrow or raise money," Connor told the Press Herald. "We've taken on a pretty big task."
The investment group had previously expressed interest in the media properties, going as far as signing a letter of intent to negotiate a sale of the three papers in July. But the group ended those exclusive negotiating talks in August because the deal was taking longer than expected.
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