Platinum Equity Completes Sale of The San Diego Union-Tribune

Los Angeles and San Diego, CA – Platinum Equity announced today it has completed the sale of The San Diego Union-Tribune to MLIM LLC, owned by San Diego entrepreneur Doug Manchester.  

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“We are grateful to have been part of the San Diego community and appreciate all the support we received in our time here,” said Tom Gores, Platinum Equity Chairman and CEO. “Many people contributed to the transformation of this business and helped the Union-Tribune manage through some really tough times. From employees to readers to community partners, everyone pitched in and played an important role.”

Platinum acquired The San Diego Union-Tribune from the Copley Press in May 2009. Under Platinum’s ownership the Union-Tribune brought in new management, unified and expanded its print and online offerings, modernized its production technology, and reaffirmed its position as the leading local media company in the region.

“I’m proud to say we did what we set out to do,” added Platinum Equity’s Louis Samson, whose team led the Union-Tribune acquisition. “Thanks to a lot of hard work by a group of very talented people, the Union-Tribune is a healthy, diversified media business that is well-prepared for the future.”

Platinum also worked closely with the Union-Tribune to build and strengthen connections with the San Diego community.

“They never lost sight of the important role the Union-Tribune plays in serving the people that live here,” said Jim Nelson, Executive Director of AVID, a college readiness system founded in San Diego that serves largely minority and low-income students. “They forged powerful relationships with several San Diego groups involved with education, journalism, and literacy. The legacy of those relationships will last well beyond their time as owners of the Union-Tribune.”

Platinum and the Union-Tribune partnered with and are providing financial support to the AVID Center, San Diego State University’s School of Journalism & Media Studies, Junior Achievement, the Classroom of the Future Foundation, and KPBS.

About Platinum Equity
Platinum Equity (www.platinumequity.com) is a global M&A&O® firm specializing in the merger, acquisition and operation of companies that provide services and solutions to customers in a broad range of business markets, including information technology, telecommunications, logistics, metals services, manufacturing and distribution. Since its founding in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity has completed more than 125 acquisitions.

About MLIM LLC
Businessman, Visionary, Industrialist and Philanthropist Doug Manchester has investments and experience in real estate, publishing, radio broadcast, telecommunication, medical instrumentation, oil and gas and hotel ownership. After completing a career in professional football career, John Lynch went on to work for the Chicago Tribune, and then to grow the Noble Broadcast Group in San Diego from one station to one of the largest private broadcast companies in the nation, ultimately selling it to Clear Channel Communications.

About The San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Union-Tribune, LLC, owned by an affiliate of Platinum Equity, is San Diego County’s leading local media company, with products covering 98 percent of all San Diego County households in a given week. The San Diego Union-Tribune and its website, SignOnSanDiego.com, are the leading local sources for news, entertainment, information and classifieds in San Diego County. Together, they reach nearly 1.3 million San Diegans each week. In 2009, The San Diego Union-Tribune won its second Pulitzer Prize, which was awarded to Steve Breen for his editorial cartoons.  The newspaper has a late week circulation of 261,298, with nearly 598,000 daily readers; Sunday circulation is 293,332, with readership of nearly 815,000. The newspaper’s Web site, SignOnSanDiego.com, is the leading local online source for news, entertainment information and classifieds in San Diego, with nearly 27 million page views and nearly 3.54 million unique users in a typical month. Other Union-Tribune products include Enlace, which has the largest distribution of any Spanish-language publication in the County. (The San Diego Union-Tribune circulation, readership and online figures are based on the Audit Bureau of Circulations 2010 annual audit).