DETROIT—Times Shamrock Communications announced today that it is placing its alternative weekly division on the market for sale, which includes the Detroit Metro Times, Detroit’s largest weekly publication.
The Metro Times is one of five properties in Times Shamrock’s alt-weekly portfolio; other weeklies in the division now on the market include San Antonio Current, Cleveland Scene, Orlando Weekly and Baltimore City Paper.
“Detroit Metro Times has been a strong, profitable investment for us for many years,” said Scott Lynett, CEO of Times-Shamrock Communications. “As we look to diversify our family’s holdings, it made sense for us to offer Metro Times for sale to someone who could take it to the next level of growth.”
Founded in 1980, the Metro Times was acquired by Scranton, Penn.-based Times Shamrock Communications in 1998. The paper’s publisher, Chris Sexson, who has been at the Metro Times since 2008, expressed enthusiasm for the paper’s long-term prospects.
“It will be business as usual for Metro Times during the sales process," Sexson said. “We are going to continue to serve our readers and advertisers who love the Metro Times brand, just as we have since 1980. We are excited about the future for us and Detroit.”
The sales process will be handled by Dirks, Van Essen & Murray, a leading merger-and-acquisition firm within the U.S. newspaper industry.
