Digital First Media was given the go signal by a ffederal bankruptcy judge to purchase Orange County Register in a $52.3 million bid. The judge has also approved the sale of Riverside Press-Enterprise to the newspaper managing giant.
Although the Orange County, under Freedom Communications, was offered $56 million in cash to be purchased by the Los Angeles Times, under Tribune Publishings; the U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mark S. Wallace still approved the sale fo the newspaper company to Digital First.
The sale of Orange County to Digital is expected to close by March 31.
The Los Angeles Times reported that it is still fighting an antitrust battle in its effort to build a media empire stretching from the Mexican border to Los Angeles. The antitrust litigation from the federal government is the main reason why the sale of Orange County was given to Digital First, to finish the bid quicker. Since Freedom Communications is in bankruptcy proceedings and will probably run out of operating capital by the end of the month, Digital First Media is the successful bidder despite the lower offer.
The Tribune Publishing could only watch as its competition acquired newspaper after newspaper. The Tribune Publishing's plan to publish Orange County, Freedom Communications was meant to expand their reach in California and increase operating efficiencies. This loss only added to the their consecutive dilemmas of changing their executives, including the replacement of their chief executive officer.
But according to New York Times, Tribune didn't raise any objection at the hearing. Although the LA Times's lawyer, Jeremy Rosenthal, called the Justice Department's assessment of the state of competition in the newspaper industry "antiquated and unrealistic."
Digital First has been aggresively expanding in recent years. The company owns more than 50 newspapers nationwide and has a reputation for cutting costs and running a lean operation. It already owns other California newspapers, including The Los Angeles Daily News and The San Jose Mercury News, as well as The Denver Post.
It had previously announced its plans to consolidate several newspapers in the eastern San Francisco Bay, like the Oakland Tribune, into a new daily named the East Bay Times. It also plans to combine the San Jose Mercury News and the San Mateo County Times into a new paper called the Mercury News.
"Ultimately, readers and advertisers benefit most when there is competition...We are dedicated to bringing stability and a renewed sense of purpose to these two great newspapers," Ron Hasse, president and publisher of Digital First's newly-named Southern California News Group, said in a statement from ABC7's report.
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