Press Release

Morgan Lewis Advises The New York Times Company on Agreement to Sell its New England Media Group to John W. Henry

Saturday, August 3, 2013

NEW YORK, August 3, 2013: The New York Times Company announced today that it has entered into an agreement to sell its New England Media Group to an acquisition company owned by John W. Henry, the principal owner of Fenway Sports Group, for $70 million in cash, subject to customary adjustments. The all-cash transaction is expected to close in 30 to 60 days.  The company intends to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes.

The principal properties that make up the New England Media Group include The Boston Globe, New England's leading newspaper and winner of 22 Pulitzer Prizes; BostonGlobe.com, the subscription Web site featuring the Globe's award-winning journalism; Boston.com, the leading source of breaking news, local content and information for New England; the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, the third-largest daily newspaper in Massachusetts; Telegram.com, the number one news and information site in Central Massachusetts, and GlobeDirect, the Boston Globe's direct mail marketing company. Also included in the sale is The New York Times Company's 49% interest in the free daily newspaper Metro Boston.

Morgan Lewis served as legal adviser to The New York Times Company on the transaction. The deal team was led by Business and Finance partners Robert Dickey and Howard Kenny and included Business and Finance associates Etienne Shanon, Karl Goodman and Michael Benz. Also assisting on the transaction were Tax partner Richard Zarin, Intellectual Property partner Ron Dreben, Business and Finance partner Judith Walkoff, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation partner Gary Rothstein, Antitrust partner Harry Robins and Real Estate of counsel Kathleen Martin.