Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary BH Media Group has purchased The Free Lance-Star, adding to its newspaper holdings in Virginia. The Free Lance-Star is a 31,700-circulation daily newspaper serving Fredericksburg and surrounding counties.
The purchase increases the Omaha-based BH Media's daily newspaper count to 32, most of them across the South and Midwest. The company has 10 daily papers in Virginia, including The Richmond Times-Dispatch and dailies in Charlottesville, Roanoke and Danville, plus nearly 20 weeklies in the state.
BH Media also owns the Omaha World-Herald. The purchase also includes Print Innovators, a commercial printer that prints the newspaper and other publications, the unit said in an email. BH Media also owns WPLG, an ABC-affiliated TV station in Miami, Florida.
Sandton Capital Partners had acquired the Fredericksburg newspaper and its affiliates during bankruptcy proceedings in June 2014. Sandton is a specialist in distressed and alternative investments.
In his March 2013 letter to Berkshire shareholders, Buffett said newspaper industry profits are certain to decline, but that papers that report local news well and have sensible Internet strategies "will remain viable for a long time."
Terms of the transaction between Sandton and BH Media were not disclosed, the Free Lance-Star reported.