The Journal Register Co. (NYSE:JRC) announced Aug. 28 that it is exploring the possible sale of its properties in New England. The company has engaged Dirks, Van Essen & Murray as its financial advisor.
Properties that would be included in the sale are: The Herald News, in Fall River; Taunton Daily Gazette; The Call, in Woonsocket; The Times, in Pawtucket; Kent County Daily Times, in West Warwick; and the Southern Rhode Island Newspaper Group, in Wakefield.
“Although we are continuing to operate our business well despite an extremely challenging period in today’s complex newspaper environment, we must continuously consider how to best deploy our resources,” said Robert M. Jelenic, chairman and CEO of the Journal Register Company. “In that regard, we are evaluating a strategic divestiture of our New England Cluster and focusing our efforts on those operations, including our growing online operations, which generate a higher return on capital and produce a higher level of profitability and cash flow.”
There can be no assurance that any transaction will occur, according to the news release, or any certainty about terms or timing of such a transaction.
The properties being considered for sale generated revenues of approximately $39.9 million a year; they produced operating cash flow of approximately $8.9 million for the 12 months ended June 25.
Journal Register Co. owns 27 daily newspapers and 366 non-daily publications. Its operations are strategically clustered in seven geographic areas: Greater Philadelphia; Michigan; Connecticut; Greater Cleveland; New England; and the Capital-Saratoga and Mid-Hudson regions of New York state.
