Digital First Media, which operates the Westport Minuteman newspaper and website, announced today that it had retained an adviser to help it explore “strategic alternatives,” including a sale of some or all of the company.
Chief Executive John Paton said UBS Securities will help Digital First Media review alternatives that include selling the entire company, selling regional clusters, doing nothing or expanding the company. The company said there is no guarantee the process will result in any deals.
Digital First Media, based in New York, was formed in December 2013 with the merger of MediaNews Group and the former Journal Register Company.
It is the nation’s second-largest newspaper company, based on circulation, operating in 15 states, with 800 multi-platform news and information products, including 76 daily and Sunday newspapers—among them the New Haven Register—and 160 weeklies, including the Westport Minuteman and Fairfield Minuteman.
In February, a number of journalists in Connecticut at 21st Century Media and Digital First Media CT were laid off, including those at the Minuteman newspapers. (See WestportNow Feb. 25, 2014
The Minuteman newspapers began 20 years ago when the late Lisa Connell, who had been let go from as editor of the Westport News, enlisted investors to start a competitive paper, the Westport Minuteman. The Fairfield Minuteman followed.
Both papers were later sold. The Journal Register Company was the last in a succession of buyers.
The assets of Journal Register Company and its affiliates were sold last year to 21st CMH Acquisition Co. The Journal Register Company then became known as 21st Century Media. Its Connecticut unit is Digital First Media CT.)
