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Scripps says 'handful' interested in Rocky

By Jeff Smith, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 16, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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SPECIAL SECTION » The Rocky Mountain News is for sale. On December 4, 2008, E.W. Scripps, the owner of Colorado’s oldest newspaper, said if a buyer does not step forward it will pursue other options – including closure.

Click to read stories about the sale, and see what other news outlets have been saying about the paper since the announcement.

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A "handful" of individuals or companies have expressed an interest in examining the financials of the Rocky Mountain News, a company official said Monday.

It's unclear whether any will qualify to receive the confidential "deal book" and whether any will make an offer to buy the Rocky, which has been put up for sale by its owner, E.W. Scripps.

Scripps spokesman Tim King said Monday the package full of financial and demographic information still needed to be approved by CEO Rich Boehne.

He called that approval imminent and said the document "definitely will be ready this week."

"There have been some requests (for it), I'd characterize it as a handful," King said. But, he stressed: "Folks who have asked for it - even if it's ready - all they've done is raise their hands and said, 'I'm interested.' "

King declined to disclose the names of the parties that expressed interest. The interested parties must be vetted by Broadwater & Associates, the New York investment banker hired by Scripps, and then they must sign a nondisclosure or confidentiality agreement. King said Broadwater has started the process of prequalifying potential bidders.

Bob Broadwater, managing director of Broadwater & Associates, said Friday he doesn't plan to comment during the process.

Scripps has said it will take offers through mid-January and if no acceptable offers emerge, it will examine other options, which might include closing the Rocky.

Scripps and William Dean Singleton's MediaNews are equal partners in the Denver Newspaper Agency, which handles the business and advertising operations of the Rocky and The Denver Post newspapers as part of a joint operating agreement.

King said Scripps hasn't had a discussion with Singleton for more than a week about exiting the JOA.

King declined to comment about a meeting last Friday in which Singleton asked the unions representing employees of the Denver Newspaper Agency to reopen contract talks because he needed to slash costs. Scripps didn't have a representative at the meeting.