There are always buyers for newspapers, part 94... A group led by Boston-based investor Aaron Kushner has acquired the company that publishes the Californian title, the Orange County Register, and several other smaller newspapers.
Kushner's group, 2100 Trust LLC, expects to close its purchase of Freedom Communications within 30 days. The sale completes the process of dismantling Freedom, which has been selling off papers and broadcasting outlets since emerging from bankruptcy protection in April 2010.
Kushner, the former chief executive of a greetings card company, has been eager to become a press proprietor. His two previous attempts to become a publisher by attempting to buy the Boston Globe and Maine's Portland Press Herald ended in failure.
He said of his successful purchase: "We believe that newspapers are essential to the fabric of our lives and are excited to own and grow these unique institutions."
The Orange County Register is the 19th largest newspaper in the States. According to the latest circulation audit, for the six months up to 31 March, the paper's print edition sold an average of copies 161,000 on weekdays and 280,000 on Sundays.
Sources: LA TImes/Poynter/OC Register
