Landmark suspends sale of assets, but not the Pilot

Landmark suspends sale of assets, but not the Pilot

By Philip Walzer The Virginian-Pilot © October 30, 2008 NORFOLK

Related:

Locally, Landmark owns the Carroll County Times in Westminster Maryland.

20080104 Company looks into sales scenarios by Carrie Ann Knauer

Landmark considers possible sale of Pilot, Weather Channel (Jan. 3, 2008)

Weather Channel's profitability is behind sale, says Landmark executive (Jan. 10, 2008)

Arkansas company scouts The Virginian-Pilot, other papers (June 29, 2008)

Weather Channel deal sealed for $3.5 billion to NBC group (July 7, 2008)

Sale of Landmark TV station in Nashville falls through (Oct. 15, 2008)

Full archive on the Landmark Communications sale

Landmark Media Enterprises LLC, citing the "credit crisis," announced Wednesday that it has taken most of its properties, including Dominion Enterprises, off the market. But the company is continuing negotiations to sell The Virginian-Pilot.

"We are having discussions regarding The Virginian-Pilot Media Companies with an interested buyer," Landmark's vice chairman, Richard F. Barry III, said Wednesday. "The buyer is encouraged about obtaining financing."

He declined to identify the prospective buyer or say when he expected the sale to be completed.

The Virginian-Pilot and its affiliates employ about 1,260 people, mostly in Hampton Roads. The Pilot's associated businesses include Web sites such as Pilotonline.com and more than a dozen specialty publications, such as Link, Port Folio Weekly, Inside Business, and newspapers on military bases.

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Newspaper-industry analyst John Morton said he wasn't surprised that Landmark was dropping its plans to sell most of its businesses. He noted that other newspapers remain on the market, including most of Cox Enterprises' publications and the San Diego Union-Tribune.

"The market is awash in sellers and no buyers," said Morton, who is based in Silver Spring, Md. "Right now it's the credit, but it wasn't happening before the credit tied up. People are very leery. They're not sure what they should pay or how well the newspapers are going to come out of the recession they've been in."

Facing steep market declines in advertising revenue and circulation, newspapers have lost more than half of their value since 2002, he said.

Landmark officials announced in January that they were looking to sell all of the businesses owned by the privately held media company. They did not offer a reason.

In September, Landmark completed the sale of its most profitable business, The Weather Channel Cos., to NBC Universal and two private-equity firms. The sal e price was not disclosed, but people close to the parties said it was about $3.5 billion.

Two weeks ago, however, Landmark announced that the planned sale of its Nashville television station to Bonten Media Group Inc. of New York had fallen through because of credit-market problems.

Landmark's businesses, minus The Weather Channel Cos., have combined revenues exceeding $1 billion a year, Barry said.

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20081030 Landmark suspends sale of assets but not the Pilot