Excerpt: “Tronc is selling the L.A. Times. Could the Baltimore Sun be next?”

• The Chicago-based news conglomerate, which owns the Baltimore Sun Media Group, announced it plans to sell the Los Angeles Times, the San Diego Union-Tribune and various titles in its California News Group for $500 million to shareholder Patrick Soon-Shiong.
• The California News Group’s revenue accounted for 31 percent of tronc’s $1.5 billion revenue over the 12-month period ending Sept. 24, 2017, according to federal filings.
• Tronc also owns the Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Hartford Courant.
• The cash tronc receives from the sale will be used to pay down the company’s outstanding debt so it can buy other digital properties. Edmonds said he is confused by tronc’s moves because the the company has talked about creating a “special high-traffic core” but bought the unprofitable New York Daily News for $1 last year. Tronc also took on the publication’s operational and pension liabilities.
• Tribune ended up splitting into two companies: Tribune Publishing Co. and Tribune Media Co. In 2016, Tribune Publishing Co. rebranded itself as tronc, short for Tribune online content.

Source: BizJournals