Co. looks into sales scenarios By Carrie Ann Knauer, Times Staff Writer

Co. looks into sales scenarios By Carrie Ann Knauer, Times Staff Writer

Friday, January 04, 2008

Business retains investment banks to explore options

Landmark Communications Inc., parent of the Carroll County Times and The Weather Channel, announced Thursday to its employees that it has hired national investment firms to explore selling the divisions of the company.

Frank Batten Jr., Landmark chief executive and chairman, sent out a memo Thursday to company employees announcing that the company has retained investment banks J.P. Morgan and Lehman Brothers “to explore strategic alternatives, including the possible sale of Landmark businesses.”

Pat Richardson, publisher of the Carroll County Times, told employees Thursday that she learned of the company’s decision Wednesday. An 18-year Landmark employee who served several years on the company’s newspaper acquisition team, Richardson said Landmark’s properties are prized assets that are likely to attract attention of other media organizations.

“There’s been a lot of consolidation of the media; we see it every day,” Richardson said. “We are still the local paper for Carroll County, and that’s not going to change, no matter who owns us.”

[…]

Other Landmark newspapers in Maryland include the Community Times, The Advocate weekly papers, Homes magazines and the recently purchased Capital Gazette Communications publications, including The (Annapolis) Capital, The Bowie Blade-News, The Crofton News-Crier, Waterfront Living Magazine, The Maryland Gazette, The West County Gazette and The South County Gazette.

The Virginian-Pilot contributed to this report.

Read Ms. Knauer’s entire article here: Co. looks into sales scenarios

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2008/01/04/news/local_news/newstory3.txt

20080104 Company looks into sales scenarios by Carrie Ann Knauer