Media General Inc. this morning announced it has sold The Tampa Tribune and its associated print and digital products to Revolution Capitol Group, a California-based group of private equity, M&A and operational executives, for $9.5 million.
Revolution Capitol Group will operate the newspaper through its newly formed Tampa Media Group Inc. The sale includes the Tribune’s smaller publications, Hernando Today, Highlands Today, Suncoast News, Sunbelt Newspapers and Spanish-language Centro.
The Tampa Tribune also is the publisher of the Plant City Courier. The release did not address the future of the Courier.
Media General announced in February it was looking for a buyer for the newspaper group, which has experienced falling revenues the past few years. According to its annual report, revenues in its Florida market fell 15% in 2011, and its operating losses in the market were $17.9 million in the same year.
Robert Loring, Revolution Capital Group founder and managing partner, told a Tampa Tribune reporter his company is not focused on improving and reselling the newspaper, but owning it in the long-term.
“We are definitely in this for the long haul,” Loring told the paper. “We don’t flip businesses.”
Richmond, Va.-based Media General will retain television operations of News Channel 8, NBC affiliate WFLA.
“It’s a bittersweet day for Media General to complete the sale of its last remaining newspaper group,” Marshall N. Morton, president and CEO of Media General, said in the release. “With this transaction, we complete the transformation of Media General’s business model to one focused on broadcast television and digital media.”
Tribune newsroom employees will move from the building it shares with WFLA to the building next door, where the newsroom was located in the 1970s, the Tribune reports. Although Media General asked the city to split the parcel it owns containing 200 and 202 S. Parker St., property records show no transfer of the property.
Media General purchased The Tampa Tribune in 1927 in a partnership but owned 100% of The Tribune Co. by 1970. Recently, The Tampa Tribune underwent a large restructuring effort, including laying off 165 employees in December 2011, and hiring a new publisher in March.
According to Revolution Capitol Group’s website, the Tampa Tribune is the company’s first foray into the newspaper industry. Its portfolio includes Lawrence Schiff Silk Mills, Inc., which produces ribbons, bows, ties and other fabricated materials; CAP XG LLC, a California-based online software firm; and Dove Professional Apparel Inc., which manufactures and distributes medical apparel.
