The San Diego Union-Tribune has been sold to Beverly Hills private equity firm Platinum Equity for an undisclosed price. The Copley Press Inc., the paper’s parent company, had been looking for a buyer since July 2008.
According to a story in the U-T, the deal is expected to be completed during the second quarter. Apparently there were several interested parties in the paper, including Tribune, MediaNews and Los Angeles billionaire Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Cos.
At one point, the Copley media empire included four dozen daily and weekly newspapers in California and Illinois. The company sold, closed or merged papers over the years. In 2007 Copley sold its 9 nine remaining Midwest papers to GateHouse Media for $380 million, leaving the Union-Tribune as the company’s only daily paper.