Sale of U-T explored by Copley Press

Copley Press, publisher of The San Diego Union-Tribune, said yesterday it has hired an investment banking firm to pursue options, including selling the newspaper. The announcement came as the privately held company has been scaling back its media holdings and real-estate assets amid declining circulation and other challenges affecting the newspaper industry. David C. Copley, president and CEO of the company, decided last week to explore a sale after talking with his top advisers. Evercore Partners, based in New York, is seeking bids and working with Copley officials to determine a market value for the company. Up for sale is the Union-Tribune Publishing Co., which includes the Union-Tribune, the Spanish-language newspaper Enlace, Today's Local News in North County and the Web site SignOnSanDiego. Also affected are some Copley... [read full story]